In the desolate Nevada desert, FBI Agent Xander Ventura uncovers a chilling conspiracy that threatens to unleash supernatural terror. Haunted by past investigations, Xander finds himself joining forces once more with retired marine and full-time ghost hunter, Shane Ryan. Together, Xander and Shane are drawn into the nightmarish world of spectral trafficking, when mysterious corpses turn up beneath the scorching sands. And they discover a link to rancher Bennet Ross—a sinister merchant dealing in haunted items tainted by the radiation of past atomic tests.

Death-shaped entities—with all of their humor and strangeness—haunt the twelve stories in Exit Zero. Vampires, ghost girls, fathers, blank spaces, day-old peaches, and famous paintings all pierce through their world into ours, reminding us to pay attention! and look alive! and offering many other flashes of wisdom from the oracle and author of Beautyland, Marie-Helene Bertino.

Charlotte Brontë found in her illnesses, real and imaginary, an escape from familial and social duties and the perfect conditions for writing. The German jurist Daniel Paul Schreber believed his body was being colonized and transformed at the hand of God and doctors alike. Andy Warhol was terrified by disease and by the idea of disease. Glenn Gould claimed a friendly pat on his shoulder had destroyed his ability to play piano....

From the shadowy corners of the dark web to the historic halls of MIT, Paul Knox, a cyber forensics expert and former Air Force officer, is thrust into a high-stakes battle against a ruthless enemy. As he races to uncover a plot that threatens to plunge America into chaos, Paul must protect his brilliant daughter, Emma, whose cutting-edge research holds the key to the nation's survival.

Hazel wants a new life. She’s thirty years old, single, and her private investigation business is months away from folding. Her luck takes a turn when Madeline Hemsley, a mysterious socialite, pays Hazel a visit with an offer too enticing to resist. An orphan girl has disappeared from a children’s home—The Orphanage By The Lake, as the locals call it—and Madeline wants Hazel to find her.