"David Burroughs was once a devoted father to his three-year-old son Matthew, living a dream life just a short drive away from the working-class suburb where he and his wife, Cheryl, first fell in love–until one fateful night when David woke suddenly to discover Matthew had been murdered while David was asleep just down the hall. Half a decade later, David’s been wrongly accused and convicted of the murder, left to serve out his time in a maximum-security...

A decade ago, kidnappers grabbed two boys from wealthy families and demanded ransom, then went silent. No trace of the boys ever surfaced. For ten years their families have been left with nothing but painful memories and a quiet desperation for the day that has finally, miraculously arrived: Myron Bolitar and his friend Win believe they have located one of the boys, now a teenager. Where has he been for ten years, and what does he know about the day,...

The Stranger appears out of nowhere. His identity is unknown. His motives are unclear. His information is undeniable. He whispers a few words in your ear and disappears, leaving your world shattered. Adam Price has a lot to lose: a comfortable marriage, two wonderful sons, and all the trappings of the American Dream. Then he runs into the Stranger. When he learns a devastating secret from the Stranger about his wife, Corinne, he confronts her....

"The man known as Wilde is a mystery to everyone, including himself. Decades ago, he was found as a boy living feral in the woods, with no memory of his past. After the police concluded an exhaustive hunt for the child's family, which was never found, he was turned over to the foster system. Now, thirty years later, Wilde still doesn't know where he comes from, and he's back living in the woods on the outskirts of town, content to be an outcast, comfortable...

Megan is a suburban soccer mom who once upon a time walked on the wild side. Now she's got two kids, a perfect husband, a picket fence, and a growing sense of dissatisfaction. Ray used to be a talented documentary photographer, but at the age of forty he finds himself in a dead-end job posing as a paparazzo, pandering to celebrity-obsessed rich kids. Broome is a detective who can't let go of a cold case. Three people living lives they never wanted,...

"It's a profile, like all the others on the online dating site. But as NYPD Detective Kat Donovan focuses on the accompanying picture, she feels her whole world explode, as emotions she's ignored for decades come crashing down on her. Staring back at her is her ex-fiance, Jeff, the man who shattered her heart-and who she hasn't seen in 18 years. Kat feels a spark, wondering if this might be the moment when past tragedies recede and a new world opens...

"Over twenty years ago, the heiress Patricia Lockwood was abducted during a robbery of her family's estate, then locked inside an isolated cabin for months. Patricia escaped, but so did her captors -- and the items stolen from her family were never recovered. Until now. On the Upper West Side, a recluse is found murdered in his penthouse apartment, alongside two objects of note: a stolen Vermeer painting and a leather suitcase bearing the initials...

Twenty of America's best mystery short stories from 2011, selected by a #1 New York Times–bestselling author.
The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume's series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish....

After amateur detective, Myron Bolitar goes on a much needed vacation on a tropical beach, he is immediately called back home. Myron shares a partnership in a sport agency with Esperanza Diaz who has just been accused of murdering baseball player Clu Haid. The detective investigates her past when she says she's innocent.

"...it all begins when Myron's ex tells him he's a father . . . of a dying thirteen-year-old boy. A surprise visit from an ex-girlfriend is unsettling enough. But Emily Downing's news brings Myron to his knees. Her son Jeremy is dying and needs a bone marrow transplant from a donor who has vanished without a trace. Then comes the real shocker: Jeremy is Myron's son, conceived the night before Emily's wedding to another man. Myron is determined to...