When it comes to Western fiction, acclaimed writer Giles Tippette hits the bull’s eye every time . . . Saloon owner Wilson Young doesn’t need the law to take care of business. But when he takes a train down to Galveston to look up a gambler who owes him a fat debt, he gets paid with a bullet in his chest. After getting out of the scrape alive—barely—Young heads back to San Antone to mend up. And plan his revenge. And draw on his outlaw past to settle a score—one bullet at a time. Praise for Giles Tippette “Tippette can plot away with the best of them.”—Dallas Morning News “Like True Grit . . . a small masterpiece . . . brilliantly written.” —Newark News “Spine-jarring, bullet-biting intensity.”—Houston Post “Tough, gutsy, and fascinating.”—NY Newsday “Impressive authenticity.”—Booklist “His fiction is taught and gripping.”—Houston Spectator “Tippette can write rough and tumble action superbly.”—Chattanooga Times

If ever a subject begged to be associated with crime it is gambling, writes Otto Penzler in his introduction to this collection of short stories set at the poker table and beyond. In Walter Mosley's Mister In-Between, a bagman is sent to collect from a rigged poker game, but soon begins to wonder who the real mark is. In One Dollar Jackpot, Michael Connelly's detective Harry Bosch finds himself looking for tells when facing off against a professional poker player in the interrogation room. And a young woman learns how to bluff the hard way in Hardly Knew Her, by Laura Lippman. In these and others stories, aces of the mystery-writing world--including Joyce Carol Oates, Alexander McCall Smith, Jeffery Deaver, John Lescroart, and others--combine to form a winning hand.

Katie’s been dealt the Dead Man’s Hand … It’s all fun and games when Katie Bonner and her friends play poker for chocolate-covered peanuts, but the very next day Jamie Seifert collapses and dies after visiting Katie’s tearoom on Victoria Square. Katie’s business in on the line and she needs to prove Jamie wasn’t poisoned at Tealicious. Her first order of business is to locate the mysterious woman he was dining with, and her next step is to go undercover at a nearby poker club where Jamie won big just a week before. It seems everyone there might have had a motive to rub Jamie out...and if they learn Katie has been lying to them, she might be next!

Have you seen the dark, strange corners of this big ol' stretch'a land called the West? Sure, you've heard the stories of gunfights and gold rushes, but that ain't the half of it. Not by far. Have you met Dr. Mirablis and his miraculous elixir re-vitae? Or heard the real story of the Ghost Dance and the man they call Walking Wolf? How about Sam Hell, the Dark Ranger with a taste for blood? Looks like you need yourself an education, and there ain't no teacher better than Nancy A. Collins. Dead Man's Hand collects her acclaimed novellas "Walking Wolf" and "Lynch," the short stories "Calaverada" and "The Tortuga Hill Gang's Last Ride," and completes the five-card draw with the all-new vampire Western novella "Hell Come Sundown." The West has never been wilder ... or weirder. Book jacket.

HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD! From a kill-or-be-killed gunfight with a vampire to an encounter in a steampunk bordello, the weird western is a dark, gritty tale where the protagonist might be playing poker with a sorcerous deck of cards, or facing an alien on the streets of a dusty frontier town. Here are twenty-three original tales—stories of the Old West infused with elements of the fantastic—produced specifically for this volume by many of today’s finest writers. Included are Orson Scott Card’s first “Alvin Maker” story in a decade, and an original adventure by Fred Van Lente, writer of Cowboys & Aliens. Other contributors include: Tobias S. Buckell * David Farland * Alan Dean Foster * Jeffrey Ford * Laura Anne Gilman * Rajan Khanna * Mike Resnick * Beth Revis * Fred Van Lente * Walter Jon Williams * Ben H. Winters * Christie Yant * Charles Yu *

Tony Valentine is an expert at spotting cheats. He’s tossed them out of gambling casinos from Atlantic City to Las Vegas and Monaco. But though Tony has never met a scam he couldn’t crack, his son and partner, Gerry, has just walked into one with a body count. What started with a conman’s deathbed confession turns into a deadly Las Vegas grudge match during the world’s biggest poker tournament. While Gerry and his shady friends tangle with the Vegas mob, Tony enlists the aid of an aging grifter who’s fleecing suckers with a dazzling array of improbable betting stunts. Tony’s been hired to save the tournament (and stop a blind player who’s out to heist it), while Gerry’s just trying to stay alive–now that murder is in the cards. Featuring insider tips for catching poker cheats, as well as a glossary of card hustler terms!

For fans of sea battles, adventures, and war stories like Unbroken, this is the incredible true story of a boy who helps to bring closure to the survivors of the tragic sinking of the USS Indianapolis, and helps exonerate the ship’s captain fifty years later. Hunter Scott first learned about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis by watching the movie Jaws when he was just eleven-years-old. This was fifty years after the ship had sunk, throwing more than 1,000 men into shark-infested waters—a long fifty years in which justice still had not been served. It was just after midnight on July 30, 1945 when the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Those who survived the fiery sinking—some injured, many without life jackets—struggled to stay afloat as they waited for rescue. But the United States Navy did not even know they were missing. As time went on, the Navy needed a scapegoat for this disaster. So it court-martialed the captain for “hazarding” his ship. The survivors of the Indianapolis knew that their captain was not to blame. For fifty years they worked to clear his name, even after his untimely death. But the navy would not budge—not until Hunter entered the picture. His history fair project on the Indianapolis soon became a crusade to restore the captain’s good name and the honor of the men who served under him.

What fun! The village party features a Murder Hunt, hosted by mystery writer Ariadne Oliver. One need only follow the game's make-believe clues to be the first to find the body. Only this time, it isn't a game, and the clues lead to a genuine corpse. Ariadne needs the help of her old friend, Hercule Poirot. The brilliant Belgian cracks the case and finds the murderer.

Buddy Baker is looking to get back in the superhero game, maybe even join up with the Justice League International. But does Animal Man have what it takes? Grant Morrison, known for his critically acclaimed work in the British weekly 2000 A.D., makes his DC Comics debut with this reworking of a classic DC hero!