Skullenia seems to be the last place that would need a detective agency. At least, that is what Ollie thinks until Count Jocular commissions him to help resolve a series of unexplained disappearances. But, has Ollie bitten off more than he can chew? With the help of his motley crew and some quite frankly ridiculous characters, he attempts to solve this perplexing mystery.

In Trio of Sorcery, Mercedes Lackey presents three exciting short urban fantasy novels, including the return of Diana Tregarde and the debut of a brand-new heroine for the twenty-first century.

A magical serial killer is on the loose, and gelatinous, otherworldly creatures are infesting the English countryside. Which is making life for the Ministry of Occultism difficult, because magic is supposed to be their best kept secret. After centuries in the shadows, the Ministry is forced to unmask, exposing the country's magical history - and magical citizens - to a brave new world of social media, government scrutiny, and public relations.

In 1876, we were called to Savannah, Georgia to help with an infestation of demons. If we'd known what we, my wife Evangeline, and I, were walking into, we'd have run the other way. As it was, we shared tea with a vampire and stepped into a battle we did not understand until it was too late.

Just yesterday, Ben was a petty criminal getting by on fleecing New York’s one-percenters. Today, he's got a new face, a new name, and a new world to navigate. And Ben’s thinking maybe this time around, he’ll use his skills at disarming and deceiving to help out people other than himself. Maybe. Watching a medieval City Guard fight off a 20-foot-tall ooze that crawled up from the sewers will make you think twice about life decisions.

All David Flinch ever wanted was a normal life. But when you're a member of the Flinch family, normal has never been easy. For hundreds of years, the eldest-born male of each generation of the Flinch family has been servant and guardian to the vampire, Lord Underwood. While the Flinches have changed through the generations, Underwood has remained eternal. David had hoped to be spared the horror of serving his family's lord and master, but when he is summoned to the Flinch home in Spain by his dying older brother, he knows his luck has run out.

Strange things happen in the picture-postcard English village of Lindsay Carfax. When a young man falls into a quarry, it takes nine days to find the body. When rowdy hippies descend on the village, they're given nine days to leave. When an outspoken schoolmaster is kidnapped for nine days, he stays eerily quiet after his release. Now Albert Campion has come to town - and he means to investigate all this strangeness. But whoever is behind the unusual goings - on quickly makes it very clear that his nosing around is not welcome.

Charged with gross incompetence, Satan is fired from his job as prince of Hell and exiled to that most terrible of places: English suburbia. Forced to live as a human under the name of Jeremy Clovenhoof, the dark lord not only has to contend with the fact that no one recognizes him or gives him the credit he deserves but also has to put up with the bookish war-gamer next door and the voracious man-eater upstairs.

After the celebrity chef rises from his grave, he aims to create a zombie army of chefs who will rule the world, using human species as the main ingredient in their cordon bleu meals. Can Floyd be stopped before it’s too late, or will we all end up roasted and then drizzled in a rich chasseur sauce?

Lori Belkin has been dumped. By her parents. They moved out while she was away on holiday, and now, at the tender age of 25, she must stand on her own two feet. While she’s getting to grips with basic adulting, Lori magically brings to life the super-sexy man she created from celebrity photos as a teenager. Lori learns very quickly that having your ideal man is not as satisfying as it ought to be and that being an adult is far harder than it looks.

Jenny doesn’t know what they’ll do when they find out she’s a wicked witch. She can’t help being a wicked witch. It’s in her blood. She’s supposed to eat children, blast people with witchfire, and plot dark deeds with her foul-mouthed imp familiar, Jizzimus. Instead, she’s rescued a girl, Kay, from a band of people traffickers. To keep her safe they have signed up for a college course in an English country mansion. Jizzimus is not impressed. The mansion is not the safe haven they thought it would be.

Nora never believed in ghosts until one popped up asking for her help. And she never believed in witches...until she discovered she was one. Now trapped in the quaint supernatural town of Eastwind, she must learn the ins and outs of her powers before she gets herself killed. When she stumbles on a murder in the greasy kitchen of an all-night diner, all wands point to Nora the newcomer as the prime suspect. With the help of her bacon-obsessed canine familiar, a too-hot waiter, and the spirit of the deceased, Nora's only chance at clearing her name is to serve up the real killer.

Meet the ultra-rational Dr Newton Barlow. Cool, cynical, scientific, he’s the last man you’d want to be a bridge between the living and the dead. But with his academic reputation in tatters, and nothing to lose but his few remaining marbles, the great skeptic is about to discover that the past that haunts him will be nothing compared to his ghost-ridden future.

All The Pan of Hamgee wants is a quiet life. So why did he have to fall in love with a woman living a different version of reality, upset a murderous tyrant, and then run out of places to hide? Now all he has to do is face his inner demons, rescue everything he holds dear, and save the world, or die trying. Oh yes, and he's an abject coward. Great. No pressure then.

Now, for the first time, Herron’s short fiction has been collected into one volume. In Dolphin Junction, devoted fans and future converts alike will find much to amuse, delight, and terrify them. Five stand-alone nerve-racking and thrilling crime fiction stories are complemented by four mystery stories featuring the Oxford wife-and-husband detective team of shrewd Zoë Boehm and hapless Joe Silvermann. The collection also includes a peek into the past of Jackson Lamb, irascible top agent at Slough House.