Edited by Lee Child, this is the follow-up to FaceOff, but this time 11 female thriller writers with 11 male thriller writers. 

This acclaimed series, winner of numerous World Fantasy Awards, continues its tradition of excellence with scores of short stories from such writers as K. W. Jeter, Karl Edward Wagner, Terry Bisson, S. P. Somtow, Charles de Lint, Kobo Abe, Jane Yolen and many others. Supplementing the stories are the editors' invaluable overviews of the year in fantastic fiction, Edward Bryant's witty roundup of the year's fantasy films, and a long list of Honorable Mentions—all of which adds up to an invaluable reference source, and a font of fabulous reading.

For the first time ever, legendary editor Otto Penzler has handpicked some of the most respected and bestselling thriller writers working today for a riveting collection of spy fiction. From first to last, this stellar collection signals mission accomplished.

Including:

* Lee Child with an incredible look at the formation of a special ops cell.

* James Grady writing about an Arab undercover FBI agent with an active cell.

* Joseph Finder riffing on a Boston architect who's convinced his Persian neighbors are up to no good.

* John Lawton concocting a Len Deighton-esque story about British intelligence.

* Stephen Hunter thrilling us with a tale about a WWII brigade.

Full list of Contributors:

James Grady, Charles McCarry, Lee Child, Joseph Finder, John Lawton, John Weisman, Stephen Hunter, Gayle Lynds, David Morrell, Andrew Klavan, Robert Wilson, Dan Fesperman, Stella Rimington, Olen Steinhauer

From the American heartland to the edge of Hell, the author presents a career-spanning examination into his own life, and the fears we all share. This title is an anthology of some of this award winning author's horror stories.

Once Chase Malone waged war. Now he creates beauty, living as a reclusive painter in Mexico. Until a rich man hires Chase to do his wife’s portrait. And Chase finds out what beauty is really all about… Derek Bellasar is an international arms merchant who lives in a fortress-like mansion on the Riviera. Sienna is his wife and the woman whose incredible beauty Chase Malone must somehow capture on canvas. There’s only one problem: Every time Bellasar has one of his wives painted, she dies. Suddenly, Chase is fighting a one-man battle against Bellasar and a private army of highly trained killers. At stake is Sienna’s life – and more. Because the CIA has been using Chase to keep a blockbuster biological arms deal from going down. And with a man’s evil threatening to devastate the world, Chase Malone must save a woman, save his life, and practice the art of war.

On a chilly October night, five people gather in a run-down motel on the Jersey shore and begin preparations to break into an abandoned hotel nearby. Built during the glory days of Asbury Park by a reclusive millionaire, the magnificent structure, which foreshadowed the beauties of Art Deco architecture, is now a decrepit, boarded up edifice marked for demolition.

The five are "creepers", the slang term for urban explorers – city archaeologists of sorts who go into abandoned buildings to uncover their secrets. And, on this evening they are joined by a reporter who wants to profile them – anonymously, as this is highly illegal activity – for a New York Times piece.

Balenger, the sandy-haired, broad-shouldered reporter with a decided air of mystery about him, isn't looking for just a story, however. And, soon after the group sets forth into the rat-infested tunnel leading to the building, it is clear that he will get even more than he bargained for. Danger, terror and death are awaiting the creepers in a place ravaged by time and redolent of evil.

After a harrowing experience in Bosnia, war photographer Mitch Coltrane makes a vow. From now on, he will take only those pictures that celebrate life and document hope instead of despair. Then the horrors of his previous assignment return to threaten him, and Coltrane must seek refuge from the present in the past. Having uncovered an old, uncaptioned photograph of a hauntingly beautiful woman, Coltrane sets out to discover who the woman was, and why her photo was hidden in the vault of a world-famous art photographer. Soon he finds himself hopelessly obsessed with the woman in the photograph and slipping into a maze of deception and treachery. Surrounded by illusions of the past and present, Coltrane now must fight for his life in the world capital of make-believe: a decadent and deadly L.A…

The best-selling author describes his teenage son's valiant but unsuccessful battle against bone cancer and relates the mystical and miraculous events that led the author to an understanding of the undying quality of the human spirit.

From New York Times bestselling author David Morrell comes the novel upon which the box office superhit Rambo was based. First came the man: a young wanderer in a fatigue coat and long hair. Then came the legend, as John Rambo sprang up from the pages of First Blood to take his place in the American cultural landscape. This remarkable novel pits a young Vietnam veteran against a small town cop who doesn’t know whom he’s dealing with -- or how far Rambo will take him into a life-and-death struggle through the woods, hills, and caves of rural Kentucky.

Millions saw the Rambo movies, but those who haven’t read the book that started it all are in for a surprise — a critically acclaimed story of character, action, and compassion.

Like Robert Ludlum, Morrell began his bestselling career with short, tough action yarns (First Blood; Testament), then moved into very long, very complex conspiracy thrillers (The Brotherhood of the Rose). This modestly exciting thriller is a return to his old laconic style, but what's missing is the original plotting that has marked so much of Morrell's fiction. The novel does boast a first-rate setup: narrator Brad Denning is on top of the world, with a great career as an architect, a wonderful wife, Kate, and son, Jason, 11 never mind the trauma that scarred his youth, when his 11-year-old younger brother, Petey, was kidnapped, never to be found. Now a "rough-looking" man shows up outside Brad's Denver office, claiming to be the long-lost Petey. Brad takes Petey, who's apparently become a hard-knock drifter, into his home. Days later, Petey pushes Brad off a cliff, leaving him for dead. Battered Brad claws his way home to find Petey gone, along with the presumably kidnapped Kate and Jason. The remainder of the novel details Brad's cross-country attempt to track them down. Morrell tosses in a major complication when it appears that Petey may not be Petey after all, but few readers will be surprised by the novel's conclusion. Along the way, there are several strong action sequences, particularly one in which Brad gets trapped in a dark, snake-infested cellar, but Morrell has written this sort of pitch-black action scene before. The novel is slick, but there's little in it that's unexpected.

An anthology of stories edited by Otto Penzler

This is a collection of 12 original stories by such crime writers as Lawrence Block, Mary Higgins Clark, Thomas H. Cook, Eric Lustbader, Philip Margolin, David Morrell, Joyce Carol Oates and Peter Straub.

By and large the kind of tales an author writes are metaphors for the scars in the nooks and crannies of his/her psyche. In David Morrell's youth, thrillers and horror stories provided an escape from his nightmarish reality. Is it any wonder that, as an adult obsessed with being a writer, he has compulsively turned to the types of stories that provided escape when he was a child? In his own words, perhaps he is eager to provide an escape for others. Or perhaps he is still trying to escape from his past. In each of the stories in this collection there is a theme: obsession and determination. A character gets and idea in his head, a hook on his emotions, a need that has to be fulfilled, and he does everything possible to carry through, no matter how difficult. Written with the haunting emotional intensity and lightning pace that has made David Morrell the master of high-action suspense writing, this collection of stories will leave you dazzled.

In his introduction to the The Best American Noir of the Century, James Ellroy writes, 'noir is the most scrutinized offshoot of the hard-boiled school of fiction. It's the long drop off the short pier and the wrong man and the wrong woman in perfect misalliance. It's the nightmare of flawed souls with big dreams and the precise how and why of the all-time sure thing that goes bad.' Offering the best examples of literary sure things gone bad, this collection ensures that nowhere else can readers find a darker, more thorough distillation of American noir fiction.

James Ellroy and Otto Penzler, series editor of the annual The Best American Mystery Stories, mined one hundred years of writing - 1910-2010 - to find this treasure trove of thirty-nine stories. From noir's twenties-era infancy come gems like James M. Cain's 'Pastorale,' and its post-war heyday boasts giants like Mickey Spillane and Evan Hunter. Packing an undeniable punch, diverse contemporary incarnations include Elmore Leonard, Patricia Highsmith, Joyce Carol Oates, Dennis Lehane, and William Gay, with many page-turners appearing in the last decade.

Fatal attacks on polluters around the world are investigated by a writer and an NYPD lieutenant. By this environmental thriller's bloody climax, readers will be thoroughly tired of its padding and cardboard characters.

Savage is no mere bodyguard but a state-of-the-art defender who must always be many steps ahead of those who threaten his clients. Akira, a master of the samurai arts, is Savage's counterpart. Together they've pledged to protect Rachel Stone, the wife of a Greek tycoon who has sworn to destroy her.

In the tradition of David Morrell's bestselling The Fifth Profession, this tale of a super-bodyguard hunting down a rogue client who controls a new and powerful weapon promises to be the most imitated thriller for years to come. Cavanaugh, a former member of Delta Force who now works as a protector for those rich enough to afford him and his team, is hired by a brilliant scientist named Prescott who needs protection from a powerful drug lord seeking the highly addictive drug he has invented. At least that is what Cavanaugh is led to believe. After Cavanaugh trains the scientist in escape and evasion, the unthinkable occurs: Cavanaugh's team is viciously attacked and entirely wiped out-and Prescott seems to be in collusion with the attackers. Now Cavanaugh must fight against his own tactics and anticipate his enemy's every move while suffering the consequences of the real secret Prescott is hiding: a unique weapon that induces fear.

When a high-speed chase goes terribly wrong, Santa Fe police officer Dan Page watches in horror as a car and gas tanker explode into flames. Torn with guilt that he may be responsible, Page returns home to discover that his wife, Tori, has disappeared.

Frantic, Page follows her trail to Rostov, a remote town in Texas famous for a massive astronomical observatory, a long-abandoned military base, and unexplained nighttime phenomena that drew onlookers from every corner of the globe. Many of these gawkers – Tori among them – are compelled to visit this tiny community to witness the mysterious Rostov Lights.

Without warning, a gunman begins firing on the lights, screaming 'Go back to hell where you came from,' the turns his rifle on the bystanders. A bloodbath ensues, and events quickly spiral out of control, setting the stage for even greater violence and death.

Page must solve the mystery of the Rostov Lights to save his wife. In the process, he learns that the decaying military base may not be abandoned at all, and that the government may have known about the lights for decades. Could these phenomena be more dangerous than anyone could have possibly imagined?

In the small town of Potter's Field, Wyoming, where the police chief is a man called Slaughter, strange things are happening. Faced by an elemental terror beyond his experience, Slaughter holds the town's life in his hands. High in the night sky, the moon is full.

An anthology of stories

Be prepared to be thrilled as you've never been before

Featuring North America's foremost thriller authors, Thriller is the first collection of pure thriller stories ever published. Offering up heart-pumping tales of suspense in all its guises are thirty-two of the most critically acclaimed and award-winning names in the business. From the signature characters that made such authors as David Morrell and John Lescroart famous to four of the hottest new voices in the genre, this blockbuster will tantalize and terrify.

Lock the doors, draw the shades, pull up the covers and be prepared for Thriller to keep you up all night.

***

"Thriller will be a classic. This first-ever collection of thriller stories, from the best in the business, has it all. The quality blew me away." – Greg Iles

"The best of the best storytellers in the business. Thriller has no equal. Action, intrigue, and entertainment at the highest level. Adventure on a grand scale you won't forget." – Clive Cussler

"Thriller is entertaining, fast-paced, and just plain fun. It will take you to the most terrifying heights of suspense." – Tess Gerritsen