Dark Secrets: A Paranormal Noir Anthology

Rachel Caine · Cynthia Eden · Megan Hart · Suzanne Johnson · Jeffe Kennedy · Mina Khan

Sep 2015 · Rashda Khan

About this ebook

 Six award-winning authors bring you this spellbinding collection of stories about dark desires, mysterious worlds, and danger that lurks in the shadows of the night. Where nothing is black and white; where things might not be as they seem; where magic and mayhem rule.

MARION, MISSING by Rachel Caine 

Valentine is a detective with two major problems: he's been offered a kidnapping case that will probably get him killed, and his partner won't let him turn it down. He owes her that much … since his partner's a ghost, and he's the one who killed her. A dark, haunting noir mystery of love, hate and loss. 

FEMME FATALE by Cynthia Eden 

PI Mick Swayne has seen it all—his clients have included liars, thieves, and even killers. He thinks he can handle anything and anyone. Then she walks into his office. Savannah Moreau is beautiful, seductive, and…a vampire? The gorgeous vamp hires Mick to help her track down a killer who is hunting in Chicago, but as Mick slips deeper into Savannah’s paranormal world, he wonders if he can really trust his new client… 

DANCE WITH THE DEVIL by Megan Hart 

When the devil starts the music, you'd better get ready to dance. 
Kathleen Murphy has sold her soul to the devil. Fame, fortune, success...everything she's ever dreamed of is hers, and all she has to do is the devil's bidding. When love comes knocking, the last thing in the world she wants to do is involve Jake in her twisted world, but the devil's started up the jukebox and Kathleen has no choice but to learn the steps. 

THE CONSORT by Suzanne Johnson 

Faulkner Hearne, the captain of the ruthless Fae Hunters, finds his duty at odds with his heart when he’s ordered to capture the consort of Faerie’s cruel Prince of Summer when she flees across the veil into modern New Orleans. Can Faulk turn Liandra over to a certain death at the hands of the prince, or will he risk a war with Faerie in order to save her? 
An all-new novella set in the Sentinels of New Orleans multiverse. 

HEART’S BLOOD by Jeffe Kennedy, a Twelve Kingdoms novella 

A dark fairytale retelling of a princess robbed of rank, husband and even her name. 
Nix is nothing. The Princess Natilde—her former waiting woman—attacked her on the journey to wed Prince Cavan, stripping her of everything and taking her place. With no serving skills, Nix becomes a goose girl. Perhaps if Nix keeps her promise never to reveal who she really is, Natilde won’t carry out her vile threats. Prince Cavan entered his arranged marriage determined to have a congenial, if not loving relationship with his future queen—for the sake of both their kingdoms. But, his wife repels him more each day and he finds himself absurdly drawn to the lovely Nix. 
With broken vows, anguish and dark secrets between them, Cavan and Nix struggle to find the magic to restore what’s gone terribly wrong... if it ever can be. 

THE DJINN IN THE MIRROR by Mina Khan, a Djinn World novella 

A paranormal Cinderella story with a young witch as the heroine and a wicked, sexy djinn instead of a fairy godmother. 
Dahlia, the step-daughter of a power hungry wizard, promises to free a djinn trapped in a mirror if he rescues her from impending death. But Ashmael the djinn has his own agenda: to trick & seduce his way to freedom. The only problem is he ends up falling for Dahlia. Can he win his freedom and save the girl? 

Add DARK SECRETS to your TBR! 
We are now on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26135577-dark-secrets-a-paranormal-noir-anthology 

“What is neo-noir fiction?

It’s contemporary dark fiction. It was built on the backbone of classic noir and hardboiled fiction, but it’s evolved to be so much more than that. It is a genre-bending sub-genre that includes edgy literary fiction, as well as fantasy, science fiction, and horror. It also touches on niche storytelling like magical realism, slipstream, transgressive, and the grotesque.”

~ Author Richard Thomas in Flavorwire

 

“The noir hero is a knight in blood caked armor. He's dirty and he does his best to deny the fact that he's a hero the whole time.”

~ Frank Miller, writer, artist, film director, best known for his graphic novels and comics.

 

“One difference between film noir and more straightforward crime pictures is that noir is more open to human flaws and likes to embed them in twisty plot lines.”

~ Roger Ebert, the first film critic to win a Pulitzer.

Ratings and reviews

Explore your darkest desires and mysterious worlds where danger lurks in the shadows in this thrilling paranormal anthology. Six great authors have come together in one bewitching anthology and the readers can’t help being drawn into the sizzling chemistry and spine tingling suspense of their worlds. The attractions between the couples are explosive with enough heat to cause some major meltdowns but each of the relationships have a few…shall we say quirks?, that each couple have to face in order to reach for their happily ever after which has lots of emotional turmoil flowing from the pages to grip the readers by their hears as well some hot and steamy romance that awakens all their most sensual and darkest desires. The characters are strong, compelling and easily seduce readers into their story where they refuse to let them go and the fast paced and smooth flowing plots thrills readers with lots of suspense, excitement and romance. Suspense and excitement builds throughout each of the stories where nothing is as it seems which keeps the readers on their toes as they get caught up in the mystery of each one. Valentine’s ghost of a partner won’t let him turn down a case that is sure to get him killed, PI Mick Swayne has seen it all until his newest client, Savannah Moreau walks into his office and I hope you have dancing shoes ready because you’ll have to learn the steps right alongside Kathleen Murphy when the devil turns the music on. Join Faulkner Hearne when he is caught between a rock and hard place with an impossible choice, the fate of two kingdoms rest on Prince Cavan’s shoulders and can you imagine Cinderella with a very wicked and sexy djinn? Find yourself a quiet corner and let your imagine run free but please remember that in these stories nothing is black and white and magic and mayhem rule because once you begin, you’ll find yourself at the mercy of each of these dark and delightfully sensual worlds and if you are like me… you won’t try too hard to get free.

About the author

 Rachel Caine is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 internationally bestselling author of more than 45 novels that span the categories of horror, suspense, urban fantasy, science fiction, media tie-in, historical, and young adult. She’s also the author of more than 100 short stories.

Award-winning author Cynthia Eden writes dark tales of paranormal romance and romantic suspense. She is a New York Times, USA Today, Digital Book World, and IndieReader best-seller.  Cynthia is also a three-time finalist for the prestigious RITA® award . Since she began writing full-time in 2005, Cynthia has written over fifty novels and novellas.

Megan Hart is a USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author who writes in many genres including mainstream fiction, erotic fiction, science fiction, romance, fantasy and horror.

Suzanne Johnson is the author of the Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series for Tor Books, including the 2014 Gayle Wilson Award-winning Elysian Fields. Writing as Susannah Sandlin, she is author of the award-winning Penton Legacy paranormal romance series for Montlake Romance, including 2013 Holt Medallion Winner for paranormal romance Absolution, as well as The Collectors romantic suspense series, including Lovely, Dark, and Deep, 2015 Holt Medallion winner and 2015 Booksellers Best Award winner for romantic suspense.  A displaced New Orleanian, she currently lives in Auburn, Alabama, and claims an affinity for SEC football, fried gator on a stick, redneck reality TV, and Prince Christof’s best friend, undead New Orleans pirate Jean Lafitte.

Jeffe Kennedy is an award-winning author whose works include non-fiction, poetry, short fiction, and novels. She has been a Ucross Foundation Fellow, received the Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship for Poetry, and was awarded a Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Award. Her essays have appeared in many publications, including Redbook.

Award-winning author Mina Khan grew up in Bangladesh on stories of djinns, ghosts and monsters. These childhood fancies now color her fiction. She daydreams of hunky paranormal heroes, magic, mayhem and mischief and writes them down as stories. Between stories, she teaches culinary classes and writes for about food for her local newspaper. Other than that, she's raising a family of two children, four cats, three dogs and a husband.