New York Times bestselling author Lee Child and the International Thriller Writers present a collection of remarkable stories in First Thrills: High-Octane Stories from the Hottest Thriller Authors. Showcasing many of the organization's bestselling authors as well as rising stars in the genre, here are twenty-five brand-new, never-before published, stories packed with murder, mystery, and mayhem.
- A cunning criminal thinks he can use a child to take the rap for his crimes.
- A hospital intern turned body-snatcher.
- A priest who comes face to face with his wife's murderer on death row.
- A confederate soldier comes home to his love, but changed by more than just the war....he comes back wrong.
- The discovery of a flying saucer in the deep sea brings one man to the brink of a massive revelation.
- A dying man's last request proves to his ex-wife that he's still rotten to the core.
- A clandestine operative finds himself caught in a wicked game of confusion . . . but who is calling the shots?
"This volume is intended to function as a sampler, as a shop window," says Lee Child in the anthology's introduction. "Read these stories, and you'll sense the talent the same way we did, and you'll be excited to pick up the participants' full- length novels, and buzz will build, and the participants will survive the crucial first year or two, and careers will be started, and the next generation of house hold names will be forged."
CJ Lyons, the anthology's managing editor, explains how this project came about.
"I was the first leader of ITW's Debut Author Program, established in 2007, and the debut authors decided that they wanted not only a way to showcase their talents but also to support and acknowledge ITW's fantastic commitment to its debut author members. We decided that an anthology combining stories from bestselling ITW members and debut authors would be a great way to achieve both.
"Our wonderful Debut Author adviser, Lee Child, agreed to edit our anthology. Since space was limited, we began by accepting stories from debut author program members and selected 13 of them that spanned the thriller spectrum in terms of content, genre, and voice. All of the submissions were excellent, so this was difficult to do!
"We then approached 13 ITW bestsellers and asked them to join forces with us and ITW co-president, Steve Berry, offered to supply an afterword.
"Scott Miller of Trident Media agreed to represent First Thrills and sold it to Tor/Forge. He has since gone on to sell the audio rights to Brilliance Audio. In addition, First Thrills has also been selected for the Book of the Month Club, Mystery Guild, Rhapsody, Literary Guild, and Doubleday Book Clubs."
"This collection proves thrills comes in all shapes and sizes, domestic and foreign, tongue-in-cheek and serious," says Steve Berry in the book's afterward. "These stories explore those fascinating moments where ordinary people face difficult choices between right and wrong; journeys to the dark territory of noir, where hope is a precious commodity; and some good old fashioned, tried and true adrenalin-rush rides of danger and amusement."
First Thrills is "An action-packed volume showcasing the best thriller authors of today and tomorrow," adds David Morrell. Sandra Brown agrees: "As if the roster of writers in this collection isn't thrilling enough, their stories titillate, chill, and scare the living daylights out of the reader. Take a deep breath. . .because normal breathing will be impossible as you race through the stories in First Thrills."
If you enjoy paranormal stories, stories of love gone wrong, twisted families, capers (both humorous and serious), police procedurals, intense psychological suspense, or tales of espionage and intrigue, then you're sure to be thrilled with the stories in First Thrills.
Author appearances and more at www.first-thrills.com.
