To the tradition of eldritch horror pioneered and refined by writers such as H.P. Lovecraft, Peter Straub, and Thomas Ligotti comes Laird Barron, an author whose literary voice invokes the grotesque, the devilish, and the perverse with intensity and astonishing craftsmanship. Collected here for the first time are nine terrifying tales of cosmic horror, including the World Fantasy Award-nominated novella "The Imago Sequence," the International Horror Guild Award-nominated "Proboscis," and the never-before-published "Procession of the Black Sloth." Together, these stories, each a masterstroke of craft and imaginative irony, form a shocking cycle of distorted evolution, encroaching chaos, and ravenous insectoid hive-minds hidden just beneath the seemingly benign surface of the Earth. With colorful protagonists, including an over-the-hill CIA agent, a grizzled Pinkerton detective, and a failed actor accompanying a group of bounty hunters, Barron's stories are resonant and authentic, featuring vulnerable, hard-boiled tough guys attempting to stand against the stygian wasteland of night. Throughout the collection, themes of desolation, fear, and masculine identity are played out against the backdrop of an indifferent, devouring cosmos. Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

Is Kira's story truly over, or does his influence linger? Death Note's story continues in this collection of short stories penned by the series' creators. Is Kira's story truly over, or does his influence linger? In this complete collection of Death Note short stories penned by the series' creators, discover tales of lives irrevocably changed by the sinister influence of the Death Note, with surprising and thrilling answers to the question of what it truly takes to use the Death Note...or fight it. Contains stories "C-Kira," "a-Kira," the Death Note pilot chapter, vignettes of L's life, and more. Is Kira's story truly over, or does his influence linger? In this complete collection of Death Note short stories penned by the series' creators, discover tales of lives irrevocably changed by the sinister influence of the Death Note, with surprising and thrilling answers to the question of what it truly takes to use the Death Note...or fight it. Contains stories "C-Kira," "a-Kira," the Death Note pilot chapter, vignettes of L's life, and more.

Miss Jean Brodie is a rare breed of teacher - passionate, independent-minded and romantically inspired, with not the slightest care for convention. She soon garners a devoted following of six young girls, who will become known as 'the Brodie set', and begins to shape them in her own image. But Miss Brodie is more than just an individual with an intense desire to control and mould her girls. Beneath the facade of this self-possessed woman lie some sinister truths, and a keen interest in fascism ...A tour de force of contemporary Scottish literature, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark is a compelling portrait of a woman's dark quest for immortality. This Macmillan Collector's Library edition features an afterword by publisher Anna South. Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much-loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

On a dismally foggy night in Hampstead, London, a curious party has gathered in an artist's studio to weather the wartime blackout. A civil servant and a government scientist are matching wits in a game of chess, while an artist paints the portrait of his characterful sitter, bedecked in Cardinal's robes at the other end of the room. In the kitchen, the artist's sister is hosting the charlady of the miser next door. When the brutal murder of said miser is discovered by his Canadian infantryman nephew, it's not long before Inspector Macdonald of Scotland Yard is at the scene, faced with perplexing alibis and with the fate of the young soldier in his hands.

Midoriya inherits the superpower of the world's greatest hero, but greatness won't come easy. What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called "Quirks"? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless? All For One's will has taken root in Tomura's mind, and this new entity is now a global threat. Even so, the United Nations is hesitant to dispatch heroes to Japan, but Star and Stripe-the U.S.A.'s number one hero-arrives to tackle this menace head-on. In the skies over the Pacific, the combatants size each other up, trying to gain an advantage, but there's no telling who'll be left standing after the dust settles on this epic duel...

A superb novel of possessive love. Laura Franklin bitterly resented the arrival of her younger sister Shirley, an enchanting baby loved by all the family. But Laura's emotions towards her sister changed dramatically one night, when she vowed to protect her with all her strength and love. While Shirley longs for freedom and romance, Laura has to learn that loving can never be a one-sided affair, and the burden of her love for her sister has a dramatic effect on both their lives. A story of consequences when love turns to obsession... Famous for her ingenious crime books and plays, Agatha Christie also wrote about crimes of the heart, six bittersweet and very personal novels, as compelling and memorable as the best of her work.

A weekly dinner party Ten amateur sleuths The Tuesday Night Club murders On a quiet Tuesday in St Mary Mead, a group of friends gather for dinner. A policeman, a clergyman, a solicitor, an author, an artist, and an unassuming lady with a shrewd gaze - Miss Jane Marple. Conversation naturally turns to crime. Each recounts a seemingly unsolvable mystery. Each thinks they know the answer. But it's the one they least expect who understands the true nature of each wicked act... Never underestimate Miss Marple 'Billions of readers can't be wrong.' Dreda Say Mitchell 'The plots are so good that one marvels . . . most of them would have made a full-length thriller.' Daily Mirror

A classic novel of desire and jealousy. Ann Prentice falls in love with Richard Cauldfield and hopes for new happiness. Her only child, Sarah, cannot contemplate the idea of her mother marrying again and wrecks any chance of her remarriage. Resentment and jealousy corrode their relationship as each seeks relief in different directions. Are mother and daughter destined to be enemies for life or will their underlying love for each other finally win through? Famous for her ingenious crime books and plays, Agatha Christie also wrote about crimes of the heart, six bittersweet and very personal novels, as compelling and memorable as the best of her work.

A special student edition of Orwell's timeless fable, with an introduction and study notes

When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. But gradually a cunning, ruthless élite among them starts to take control, and the animals find themselves hopelessly ensnared as one form of tyranny is replaced with another.

This special student edition of George Orwell’s chilling satire is specifically designed for readers who are studying the text in detail. It has extra-wide margins to leave space for notes, and includes an introduction and notes by Orwell expert Ronald Carter, character sketches, a summary, a chronology, language notes and a selection of questions and topics for discussion and analysis.

Agatha Christie's complete Tommy and Tuppence short story collection, reissued with a striking new cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers. Tommy and Tuppence Beresford were restless for adventure, so when they were asked to take over Blunt's International Detective Agency, they leapt at the chance. After their triumphant recovery of a pink pearl, intriguing cases kept on coming their way: a stabbing on Sunningdale golf course; cryptic messages in the personal columns of newspapers; and even a box of poisoned chocolates.

A young woman with nothing to live for is persuaded to embark on a suicide mission to find a missing scientist... When a number of leading scientists disappear without trace, concern grows within the international intelligence community. Are they being kidnapped? Blackmailed? Brainwashed? One woman appears to have the key to the mystery. Unfortunately, Olive Betteron now lies in a hospital bed, dying from injuries sustained in a Moroccan plane crash. Meanwhile, in a Casablanca hotel room, Hilary Craven prepares to take her own life. But her suicide attempt is about to be interrupted by a man who will offer her an altogether more thrilling way to die...

A young woman investigates an accidental death at a London tube station, and finds herself of a ship bound for South Africa... Pretty, young Anne came to London looking for adventure. In fact, adventure comes looking for her - and finds her immediately at Hyde Park Corner tube station. Anne is present on the platform when a thin man, reeking of mothballs, loses his balance and is electocuted on the rails. The Scotland Yard verdict is accidental death. But Anne is not satisfied. After all, who was the man in the brown suit who examined the body? And why did he race off, leaving a cryptic message behind: '17-122 Kilmorden Castle'?

There's more than petty theft going on in a London youth hostel... An outbreak of kleptomania at a student hostel was not normally the sort of crime that aroused Hercule Poirot's interest. But when he saw the list of stolen and vandalized items - including a stethoscope, some old flannel trousers, a box of chocolates, a slashed rucksack and a diamond ring found in a bowl of soup - he congratulated the warden, Mrs Hubbard, on a 'unique and beautiful problem'. The list made absolutely no sense at all. But, reasoned Poirot, if this was merely a petty thief at work, why was everyone at the hostel so frightened?

A seance in a snowbound Dartmoor house predicts a grisly murder... In a remote house in the middle of Dartmoor, six shadowy figures huddle around a small table for a seance. Tension rises as the spirits spell out a chilling message: 'Captain Trevelyan... dead... murder.' Is this black magic or simply a macabre joke? The only way to be certain is to locate Captain Trevelyan. Unfortunately, his home is six miles away and, with snow drifts blocking the roads, someone will have to make the journey on foot...

Agatha Christie's disturbing 1960s mystery thriller, reissued with a striking new cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers. Gipsy's Acre was a truly beautiful upland site with views out to sea - and in Michael Rogers it stirred a child-like fantasy. There, amongst the dark fir trees, he planned to build a house, find a girl and live happily ever after. Yet, as he left the village, a shadow of menace hung over the land. For this was the place where accidents happened. Perhaps Michael should have heeded the locals' warnings: 'There's no luck for them as meddles with Gipsy's Acre.' Michael Rogers is a man who is about to learn the true meaning of the old saying 'In my end is my beginning...'

Walk the Blue Fields by Claire Keegan is the long awaited second collection from the Booker-shortlisted author of Small Things Like These. A long-haired woman moves into the priest's house and sets fire to his furniture. That Christmas, the electricity goes out. A forester mortgages his land and goes off to a seaside town looking for a wife. He finds a woman eating alone in the hotel. A farmer wakes half-naked and realises the money is almost gone. And in the title story, a priest waits on the altar for a bride and battles, all that wedding day, with his memories of a love affair. In her long-awaited second collection, Claire Keegan observes an Ireland wrestling with its past.

Isaac Asimov's Robot series - from the iconic collection I, Robot to four classic novels - contains some of the most influential works in the history of science fiction. Establishing and testing the Three Laws of Robotics, they continue to shape the understanding and design of artificial intelligence to this day. Could a robot ever show true creativity? Is it wise to trust self-driving cars? Will robotic body parts transform human beings into machines? Will organic technology allow robots to become human? The Complete Robot combines the stories in I, Robot and The Rest of the Robots with many more found only in this collection - including one of Asimov's masterpieces, the Hugo and Nebula award-winning novella 'The Bicentennial Man'. Featuring Dr. Susan Calvin, Donovan and Powell, and the detective Elijah Baley, hero of the Robot novels, this is the ultimate collection of short stories from a genius of the genre.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. '...we call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words.' When his beloved owners are forced to sell him, Black Beauty leaves his life as a young, care-free colt behind him and embarks on a working life of misery. Cruelly treated by his new masters, Anna Sewell rails against animal mistreatment in this poignant tale of a horse whose spirit can not be broken.

A collection of short stories featuring the 'heart specialist', Parker Pyne. Mrs Packington felt alone, helpless and utterly forlorn. But her life changed when she stumbled upon an advertisement in The Times which read: 'ARE YOU HAPPY? IF NOT, CONSULT MR PARKER PYNE'. Equally adept at putting together the pieces of a marriage or the fragments of a murder mystery, Mr Parker Pyne was possibly the world's most unconventional private eye - and certainly its most charming.

Welcome to Berecombe-by-the-Sea for a year of very special celebrations... This year sees the seventy-fifth anniversary of D-Day. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to those brave boys who went to fight on French beaches for our freedom. And now Berecombe is playing host to our American allies once more. All surviving soldiers who were billeted in the town have been invited for street parties, a D-Day parade, a black-tie ball at The Henville and much, much more. So, come along, get dressed up and join in the fun! A second chance...or a new romance? With summer having arrived in Berecombe with sunshiny gusto, and the D-Day anniversary celebrations on the horizon, there's much to keep Ashley Lydden busy as she settles further into her new life by the seaside. So why can't she stop thinking about Eddie McQueen? They came so close to having it all, but now Ashley isn't sure where they stand. With flirty Cornish painter Jake Tremayne taking a shine to Ashley and asking her to sit for a portrait, things get even more complicated. It's shaping up to be a summer of love...but which man will claim Ashley's heart? Readers are LOVING The Great Summer Street Party: 'A delightful escapism read and a beautiful story that brought back lots of memories of my Nan' Helen 'Packed with romance, celebrations, starting life again and lots of see, sun and sand...a lovely friendship and community vibe' Meena 'What a lovely blend of romance and historical fiction surrounding the soldiers involved in the D-Day landings...Get out the bunting!' Norma 'Made me really want to read more after rushing through it' Joanne 'Left me wanting more...the most perfect setting in the West Country, sun, sea and a fantastic welcoming community' Sally