Like millions of Americans, Dr. John VanDuyne is stunned to watch President Tom Winston announce his plans to legalize narcotics in a radical bid to destroy the power of the drug cartels. Especially since, as Winston’s personal physician and a government health spokesman, VanDuyne might have expected some prior warning. And now he’s going to be right in the firing line when the uproar begins. For President Winston, his daring plan could turn out to be political suicide. For VanDuvne, it’s going to be much worse than that.

Billy Summers is a man in a room with a gun. He’s a killer for hire and the best in the business. But he’ll do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy. And now Billy wants out. But first there is one last hit. Billy is among the best snipers in the world, a decorated Iraq war vet, a Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done. So what could possibly go wrong?

Tech millionaire Miles Cookson has more money than he can ever spend and everything he could dream of - except time. He has recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and there is a 50 percent chance that it can be passed on to the next generation. For Miles, this means taking a long hard look at his past. Two decades ago, a young, struggling Miles was a sperm donor. Somewhere out there, he has kids - nine of them. And they might be about to inherit both the good and the bad from him - maybe his fortune, or maybe something much worse.

In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis' parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there's no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents - telekinesis and telepathy - who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and 10-year-old Avery Dixon.

The Inn at Gloucester stands alone on the rocky shoreline. Its seclusion suits former Boston police detective Bill Robinson, novice owner and innkeeper. As long as the dozen residents pay their rent, Robinson doesn't ask any questions. Neither does Sheriff Clayton Spears, who lives on the second floor. Then Mitchell Cline arrives, with a deadly new way of doing business. His crew of local killers break laws, deal drugs, and bring violence to the doors of the Inn.

Beth Montgomery seems to have the perfect life: a beautiful house in the hills above Los Angeles, a handsome, ambitious husband, and plans of starting a family. So it doesn't occur to her to worry when the news breaks of a quadruple homicide across town, a botched drug deal that leaves an undercover officer among the dead. Beth certainly would never think to tie the murders to the sudden reappearance in her life of wild, sexy Cassie Ogilvy, the estranged best friend she hasn't seen since they were college roommates.

Matthew Raymond, a private investigator, locked into a maze of deceit and deception uncovers the truth of Project Transcendence. For Matthew Raymond, his job as a private investigator is personal. Extremely personal. After the disturbing 2053 murder of his sister, Livia, Matthew left in a rage searches for her killer and answers to the mysterious questions that lurked around her death. Now, three years later, Matthew realizes his problems just went from bad to worse as he discovers himself immersed in a city where the wealthy and corrupt politicians rule.

Titus drove to Florida to murder a man. Fresh from prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Out for blood. But when a distraught mother begs him to track down her missing daughter, the former detective can't help himself. He dives head-first into a sleazy South Beach underworld of lowlife thugs, celebrity wannabes, and drug-fueled sex parties. Titus soon finds himself up against an organized crime boss, a crooked politician, and a hard-nosed detective.

In the dark woods of Olive Park, in the hills above Sacramento, a California Highway Patrol officer stumbles over a gnarled branch. But it isn’t a branch. It is an arm. Reaching up from a shallow grave. And clutched in the small, desperate hand is a single quarter. So begins one of the most exhaustive investigations in California history. Yet even with their massive resources, State and Federal authorities fail to find any trace of the killer. After two long years, the case goes cold.

Victor Li is devastated by his father’s murder and shocked by a confessional letter he finds among his father’s things. In it, his father admits he was never just a restaurateur - he was part of a vast international crime syndicate that formed during China’s leanest communist years. Victor travels to Beijing, where he navigates his father’s secret criminal life, confronting decades-old grudges, violent spats, and a shocking new enterprise that the organization wants to undertake. Standing up against it is likely what got his father killed, but Victor remains undeterred.

Rookie cop Carrie Santero has always been fascinated by serial killers. As a teenager, she wrote a letter to Charles Manson in prison - and received a chilling reply. Then she came face to face with a child murderer in her small Pennsylvania town, an encounter that haunts her to this day. Now, as a detective in training, she finally has her chance to make a difference; to hunt down a psychopathic sadist who embodies the very nature of evil itself.

Avi Hirsch has always known his daughter was different. But when others with incredible, otherworldly gifts reveal themselves to the world, Avi realizes that her oddness is something more - that she is something more. With this, he has a terrifying revelation: Emmeline is now entering a society where her unique abilities unfairly mark her as a potential threat. And even though he is her father, Avi cannot keep her safe forever.

He's the psychiatrist that the cops call when the case gets too weird. He specializes in unexplained mysteries of the mind. When the clues stop making sense and children's lives are at risk, he's the outside expert the Baltimore City Police have on speed dial. Gordon isn't afraid to dive headfirst into the paranormal world of the human brain, but sometimes, he needs a little help to pull himself back out again.

It's been said that all great literature boils down to one of two stories—a man takes a journey, or a stranger comes to town. While mystery writers have been successfully using both approaches for generations, there's something undeniably alluring in the nature of a stranger: the uninvited guest, the unacquainted neighbor, the fish out of water. In the newest collection of stories by the Mystery Writers of America, each author weaves a fresh tale surrounding the eerie feeling that comes when a stranger enters our midst, featuring stories by prolific mystery writers.

Bic Green, a.k.a. Black Ghost, is a world-class contract killer. Tormented by his inner demons, he clings to absolution from his evils by channeling his funds toward his goddaughter, Gracie, to help in her quest to cure cancer. In his final job, Bic plans each murder meticulously, creating elaborate ways to make each death look accidental.