Böcker utgivna av Black Beacon Books

Introducing Oscar Tremont, Investigator of the Strange and Inexplicable.Join Oscar Tremont on his first four cases as he tackles mysteries too strange for the police and assures his clients that a rational explanation lies behind what at first appears to be impossible. You will find clues, question suspects, don disguises, break into abandoned houses, solve codes and puzzles, and if you really have your wits about you, crack the case before our hero.Oscar Tremont, Investigator of the Strange and Inexplicable consists of two novellas and two short stories that display the keen intellect of a private investigator who is bound to make a name for himself in the mystery genre.◆ The Hunt for the Stayne Fortune◆ The Ghosts of Walhalla◆ The Witch at the Window◆ The Secret of the Severed HandThese four mysteries will challenge and surprise even the most experienced armchair detectives.Are you up to the task? The game's afoot!

Tales of deadly machinery have long fascinated us, from Edgar Allan Poe's classic pendulum to the Terminator films. Murder and Machinery pays homage to this tradition, offering you gripping tales following this theme but set in different times and places, from colonial America and London during the First World War to dystopian futures on this planet and beyond. Never before has an anthology brought tales of science fiction and suspense together in such a terrifying way, showcasing the nightmarish imagination of authors who know how to play on the reader's fears and who share those fears of uncontrollable machines, or perhaps even more frightening, of fellow humans mastering technology for their own evil purposes.A word of advice before you start. By all means, settle down in your living room and let this anthology of technological terror and mechanical madness enthral you, but first, you might want to lock your doors and switch the power off at the mains. Best keep it low-tech tonight. Trust me. I hope you have candles?The Secret Zeppelin - Duncan Richardson#Selfie - Linda BrucesmithFargan's Termination - Paul WilliamsA Little Kindness Goes a Long Way - Chisto HealyThe Box - Sarah Jane JusticeThe Wheel - Michael PiccoThe Wedge - Kurt NewtonTenterhooks - Cameron TrostLeonora - Danielle BirchVanitas - James DorrDon - Steve DuboisFoul Beasts - Karen BaylyA Whole New World - KG McAbeeSuicide Blonde - Paulene TurnerDriverless - Robert BagnallThe Screen in the Sky - Kerilee S. Nickles"Anxiety about machines taking over our existence and eventually becoming the catalyst for our destruction as a species is not a new concept. However, it is one that seems to have been shoved to the back of the fear line in the last decade, the dark fiction genres instead overrun with zombies, serial killers, and spirit possessions. We've forgotten, it seems, that the scariest creatures are the ones we usher willingly into our own homes. Luckily, the authors of Murder and Machinery: Tales of Technological Terror and Mechanical Madness are here to remind us. In a potluck of dystopian, steampunk, and sci-fi-inspired horror, Murder and Machinery has something for every speculative fiction fan, especially those for whom creepiness is best served on cold metal." - Rebecca Rowland, posted on Ginger Nuts of Horror

What does it mean to be human?Thirteen strange tales of suspense and psychological horror in the tradition of Roald Dahl's stories for adults✓ Twist endings ✓ Quirky characters ✓ Uncanny settings✓ Kinky humour✓ Reality turned upside downThe Animal Inside is a collection of thirteen strange and twisted stories that will take you for a walk along the fine line between insanity and reason, the peculiar and the prosaic, and the animal kingdom and human society, then leave you wondering where one ends and the other begins. These tales will confuse, amuse, shock, and intrigue, but they will also cause you to contemplate your very own animal inside. The Strange TalesCleopatra's Mystery BoxThe Church of AsagOld Mabel's Stray CatVeronica's DogsThe Crows of Eildon HillLaurenMilkHorror at Hollow HeadDeclan's FantasyForgotten FallsAnimalLike SistersIt Starts with InsectsExcerpt from Cleopatra's Mystery Box'Put your hand inside my box and tell me what you feel.' It was the first time Cleopatra had invited Andrew back to her house. Her father was out west on a field trip, tracking desert lizards, and her mother and younger sister were down the coast for the weekend. They were sitting on her bed, he cross-legged at the foot, and she nestled at the head in a cloud of velvet and patchwork cushions. Her Egyptian eyes watched him intently and her porcelain face was so stern it simply had to be fighting back a smile. 'Is this foreplay?' he asked, hoping to make her crack. She pursed her purple lips. 'It's a game, ' she said eventually. 'What kind of game?' 'My game.' 'So, you've played it before?' 'Well, it wouldn't be my game if I hadn't, would it?' She frowned. 'You can ask pointless questions or you can play. It's up to you.' 'I want to play.' 'Just put your hand inside and tell me what you feel. If you guess correctly, you can ask me to do something for you.' He stared into her dark brown eyes, full of childish mischief and timeless mystery, then dropped his gaze to the box in her hands."The thirteen stories included in the book will be ones you remember, and that, friends, is a sign of a good short story collection...If this is your first taste of Cameron Trost, you've come to the right place. I will remember the name." - Bruce Blanchard, Goodreads

★ Highly recommended for crime fiction readers everywhere - Australian Crime Fiction website (austcrimefiction.org)★ This is an excellent selection of stories to suit every mystery fan...enjoyment all the way - Karen Bayly, author of Fortitude★ This anthology delivers an eclectic mix of stories with thrilling twists and turns - Danielle Birch, author of mystery and suspense★ Five stars for a strong, entertaining collection of mystery stories, brought together in one volume by the masters at Black Beacon Books - from a Goodreads reviewThe first Black Beacon Book of Mystery brings you original and reprinted tales from locked-room mysteries and armchair detective puzzles to noir adventures and police investigations. It includes a brilliant Sherlock Holmes pastiche and the second Oscar Tremont novella. This is the perfect anthology for the avid mystery fan.Follow the clues, put all the pieces together, and solve the case before the detective. The game's afoot!The Problem of the Snowbound Shack by Jon Matthew FarberThe Windless Halt Affair by Brian E. GuyllThe Case of the Reverse Thief by Paulene TurnerThe Freak-Hunter's Casebook by Kurt NewtonSunset for the Tattooed Lady by Robert Allen LuptonAvoca Mansion by Duncan RichardsonThe Ghosts of Walhalla by Cameron TrostThe Vicar of Sexton's Deep by Mike AdamsonThe Pullman Case by John M. Floyd50 by Josh PachterThe Morrison File by Robert PetyoMidnight by M. H. NorrisStep Light by David Tallerman

The storm is coming. Seek shelter!✓ Hitchcockian influence✓ Desperate characters✓ A variety of stormy settings✓ Twists unleashed like flashes of lightningAn anthology for readers who love stormy weather, whether it be the thunderstorms of the tropics, the tempests of the Atlantic, or the blizzards of the frozen north. Seek shelter, batten down the hatches, and lose yourself in this short anthology of suspense, mystery, and terror, designed to be read in one stormy sitting while the wind howls or thunder bellows.The seven stories in this anthology all begin with the protagonists desperately seeking shelter from a storm, but they then go in very different directions! The Stormy StoriesAbsinthe for the Soul - Danielle BirchDeep-Sea Fishing - Claire FitzpatrickThe Murder at Karreg Du - Cameron TrostThe Bells of St. Clement's - Stuart OlverCreep's Motel - Jeremy HayesAnd Then There Were Two - Pym SchaareThe Inimitable Livers - Mark McAuliffe

Nobody's letterbox is safe!Ian Carew is a mild-mannered teacher at the primary school in Mirebury, a quiet town lost in the moors. Six years after leaving London, he's still considered a newcomer, but his elderly neighbour, Mary Hopkins, treats him like a son, and the local butcher, Jack Fuller, is his best friend. All that's missing from Ian's life is a touch of romance and a dash of adventure. Little does he know, he's about to get a taste of both. When Mary Hopkins opens her letterbox and makes a gruesome discovery, Mirebury is thrown into a state of shock and outrage. At first, the townsfolk assume it was a random act, but the horrible deliveries continue and they're forced to acknowledge they have become the target of a campaign of terror - and nobody's letterbox is safe.Is the Postman one of them, or an outsider? Tensions grow as suspicion and accusations tear the town apart. Neighbour is pitted against neighbour and tempers flare. The Postman only strikes at night and moves through the fog like a ghost. Catching him seems impossible, but Mirebury fights back, and in the end, the fate of the town will come down to one man.

Explore the world on the other side of the street!Entering the tunnels is easy, but Ripley and Gabriela soon discover that reaching the surface again will be the greatest challenge they have ever faced... Who are the mysterious tunnel dwellers and why have they founded an underground community of their own? Who is the tunnel runner and why is he so determined to kill anyone who ventures too close to the Chambers? As they unlock the secrets of this subterranean society, Ripley and Gabriela will also discover the answer to a mystery of their own - one that has haunted Gabriela since childhood. The Tunnel Runner is a gripping tale of suspense and urban adventure built on a foundation of social tension and family secrets. It takes you by the hand and leads you deep beneath the city of Brisbane.Excerpt"There's no point running, surface walker! You can't get away from me. Nobody knows these passages better than I do. I'm the tunnel runner."The tunnel runner, those words echoed. Ripley thought to himself. He didn't know what it meant, but he had seen him run, climb, and jump before. He knew that he was physically superior. Ripley's workout sessions with his mates may have helped keep him in shape and taught him a few nifty moves, but they were a walk in the park compared to this man's daily routine. Ripley was running in the dark. He had to rely on his assailant's torchlight to guide him along the tunnel, but his own body was blocking most of the beam. He could tell the light was aimed at the back of his head - focused on the exact spot where the tunnel runner wanted to plant his blunt hatchet. It was only a matter of time before he received the deathblow. Reviews of The Tunnel RunnerTrost combines elements of suspense, mystery and horror into this fast-paced adventure that also asks interesting questions about the way we choose to live and survive in the city, and what happens to those, who through no fault of their own, are discarded by mainstream society." - Maree Kimberley, author of Dirt Circus League"What Cameron has created feels like modern urban folklore." - Mark McAuliffe, horror writer"In The Tunnel Runner, Trost effortlessly plunges us into a claustrophobic, underground world hidden mere metres beneath our feet. We experience some genuine moments of terror through the eyes of the sympathetic protagonists. But to me, the greatest pleasure was meeting some delightfully obnoxious surface walkers whose morally bankrupt actions threaten to unleash tragedy." - Amazon reader"I read The Tunnel Runner a few months ago, and while I don't usually write reviews, I wanted to share my excitement for this gripping thriller. I love stories with trains, shady figures, barbed-wire fences, and manholes that lead to mysterious places." - Claire Fitzpatrick, horror author and editor of The Body Horror Book"This interesting take on Australian socio-demographics features a cinematic climax and a bittersweet denouement. Throughout every plot twist, the city of Brisbane holds the spotlight." - Deborah Sheldon, author of Contrition