Austin S Camacho

A distraught woman hires private investigator Hannibal Jones to track down her daughter who has run away, trying to escape the homeless shelter life her mother has come to accept. No sooner has Hannibal found Connie Blanco than he finds himself entwined in a gang war and a murder. The corpse is barely cold before a second murder follows and Hannibal finds himself entangled in a complex plot...but who is the mastermind of this twisted scheme?

Taking on a case that sounded simple, Morgan Stark and Felicity O'Brien are tasked to retrieve two high-value paintings but it quickly becomes more complicated. Using past connections, the ex-mercenary and the former jewel thief go undercover as part of J.J. Slash's growing crime empire. Slash, a 17-year-old gangster with some unique ideas about crime and capitalism is at the center of a war to reshape the criminal system of New York City. To stop the battle, Stark and O'Brien are relying on their special gift, a psychic link that alerts them to danger. But danger comes in many forms in J.J.'s world. The team will need luck and skill to survive gangsters, killers, and attacks from the most unexpected sources.

Private Eye Hannibal Jones takes on the most important client of his life: Cindy Santiago, the woman he loves. Cindy has been betrayed by a close friend and taken in a scam that has left her almost penniless. The swindler has not only taken her money, he has stolen her confidence and robbed her of her will to live. Hannibal's only lead is Irene, the woman who got Cindy's friend involved and wants to run away with him. She may hold the key to Cindy's problem . . . until she is gunned down right in front of Hannibal in a drive by shooting. When Irene's body disappears Hannibal is the top suspect in a plot to help her and her boyfriend escape. Now he needs to clear his name and recover Cindy's money. As more murders follow, Hannibal must unravel the complex scheme before he and Cindy become the next victims.

SUSPENSE STORIES TO KEEP YOU ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEATThere is a peculiar allure of insidious characters-and especially assassins, hitmen, contract killers, and their ilk. Perhaps we find their uncomplicated moral codes and brutal efficiency appealing. These characters care little about ethics or morals-and perhaps that alone, that freedom from guilt, is exactly why we love them. Perhaps, deep down, we wish we could be like them. And perhaps, by reading stories with such characters, we can vicariously experience that thrill.PROPULSIVE, SUSPENSEFUL CRIME FICTIONWith this fascination with evil characters in mind, Smart Rhino Publications decided to publish this anthology, Insidious Assassins, a sequel to Uncommon Assassins. The book contains 24 stories by some of the best horror, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy authors writing today. Here you will meet some truly insidious characters-twisted characters you may find yourself applauding when you know you shouldn't. Enjoy "Another entertaining anthology from Weldon Burge that is certain to get your adrenaline flowing and to cost you hours of sleep. What a wonderful collection of stories. What are you waiting for?" - Fair ReviewsTHE STORIES Those Rockports Won't Get You Into Heaven-Jack KetchumDead Bill-Shaun MeeksWorse Ways-Meghan ArcuriNo One of Consequence-Christine MorganAnd the Hits Just Keep on Coming-Doug RinaldiThe Night Gordon Was Set Free-Billie Sue MosimanAlmost Everybody Wins-Lisa MannettiFriends From Way Back-Dennis LawsonThe Repo Girl-Patrick DerricksonLetter for You-Carson BuckinghamThe Rock-Joseph BadalThe Handmaiden's Touch-Doug BlakesleeThe Bitter and the Sweet-DB CoreyInfluence-Martin ZeiglerAgnus Dei-Jezzy WolfeLabyrinth-James S. DorrBlenders-J. Gregory SmithOne of Us-Austin S. CamachoThe Absinthe Assassin-JM ReinboldSlay It Forward-Adrian LudensTantse So Smert'yu (Dancing With Death)-Ernestus Jiminy ChaldWhat the Blender Saw-L.L. SoaresCode Name Trine-Martin RoseBest-Sellers Guaranteed-Joe R. LansdaleCover art by Whitney Cook, cover design by Scott Medina.

This novel is about a privately funded detective agency whose only purpose is to help police officers in trouble. The story follows four of the agency's cases, which overlap and intersect. There is an undercover officer in danger of being drawn into a life of crime, a crooked lawyer who is destroying police careers by making arresting officers appear to have violated criminals' rights, a cop's wife who accuses him of abusing their daughter, and a retired police detective who is now in charge of airport security and could lose his job because of a drug smuggling incident. Pursuing these cases is a team of unique and intriguing detectives. The agency's director, the enigmatic Paul Gorman, sits at the center of the action, pulling the strings and directing the team and to solve each troubling case.

Morgan Stark, a retired mercenary soldier and Felicity O'Brien, a retired jewel thief operate a security business. Stark and O'Brien have a special gift, a psychic link that alerts them to danger. Their newest case involves a drug called Ice and a Columbian group known as the Escorpionistas. The leader of the Escorpioistas, a woman known as Anaconda, has a secret weapon: clairvoyant brothers who are able to alert her of the threat that Stark and O'Brien will pose before it happens. After one of Anaconda's psychics escapes her control, the heroes dodge killers from California to Texas while following the clues that lead to discovering how the Ice is getting into the United States. The battle intensifies as Stark and O'Brien take the battle to Colombia where they face the killers head on and risk their own lives trying to find answers.

Retired jewel thief, Felicity O'Brien travels to her native Ireland to defend her uncle's Catholic parish. With her is her partner, Morgan Stark, a retired mercenary soldier. The job looks easy until they meet Ian O'Ryan, an IRA terrorist who believes he is the reincarnation of Orion the ancient hunter. He is determined to keep the violence alive in Ireland and to spread it throughout the island. To avoid bullets, bombs and beatings, Stark and O'Brien rely on a special gift, a psychic link that alerts them to danger. But against O'Ryan they face danger from an entire army of enemies. Trying to separate patriotic mercenaries from heartless terrorists leads them to a sniper mission on the rocky Irish coast, a deadly high speed motorcycle race in Belgium, and a final confrontation on an island off the coast of France where Stark could die by slow torture if O'Brien doesn't find him in time.

Washington D.C.'s professional troubleshooter, Hannibal Jones, is enraged when he is forced to take a case at gunpoint. His client is a Russian assassin who will kill Hannibal's beloved, Cindy Santiago, if Hannibal refuses to help him. With no choice, Hannibal agrees to investigate the smooth, wealthy Algerian who has stolen the heart of the woman his new client loves. At first the case looks simple, but Hannibal's view quickly changes when evidence surfaces connecting the Algerian to Russian mob money and the apparent suicide of the girl's father several years earlier. Further investigation reveals that the Algerian may not be who he says he is. Then more deaths follow, closing in on the Algerian and the girl. At first working only to protect Cindy's life, Hannibal is soon chasing the truth for its own sake and must fight his way through past lies, present jealousies and the Red Mafiya to learn the real reason that death is stalking the couple. Hannibal peels the Algerian's history like an onion, each layer revealing a false identity. His search for the truth leads to a dramatic shootout on Roosevelt Island, side-by-side with his murderous client.

Anita Cooper was three times a victim. Her father's death crushed her dreams of college and a better life. Then her purity was drowned in powerless anxiety and her gentle fantasies displaced by unspeakable humiliation, all because of a hard man who knew the way of the world. Rod Mantooth stole both her innocence and her father's legacy, a secret that could have rebuilt her life. Anita was lost until she encountered another hard man who knew the way of the world--the urban paladin and professional troubleshooter named Hannibal Jones. Like a rolling mass of icy fury, Hannibal followed the trail of corrupted human debris that would lead to Rod Mantooth and a final showdown in the icy waters of the Atlantic.

An eighteen-year-old boy lies dying of leukemia. Kyle's only hope is a bone marrow transplant, but no one in his wealthy Virginia family can safely supply it. His last chance lies in finding his father, a man who disappeared before he was born. Police and private investigators can find nothing on a trail that has been cold for eighteen years. Kyle's family has nowhere to turn until they learn of a certain troubleshooter--that self-styled knight errant in dark glasses, Hannibal Jones. He has two weeks to find the missing man, but his search turns up so much more. He discovers a woman who might be Kyle's illegitimate sister, a woman who could be her mother, and a chauffeur who may have killed Kyle's father. Hannibal follows a twisting, winding path of deception, conspiracy and greed, from Washington to Mexico. The case only becomes more dangerous as Hannibal steps closer and closer to the truth.

Dan Balor, a high powered Washington attorney, buys an apartment building in the heart of the city, hoping to create low income housing for good families. Instead he finds the building occupied by squatters: drug dealers, winos, and hookers intent on staying in place. Police and private investigators are unable to empty the building for use by paying residents. No one seems willing or able to take on this challenge until Balor meets Hannibal Jones. Hannibal soon finds himself up against a local crime boss and his powerful mob connected father. The conflict spreads until Hannibal realizes that his stand against the mob could explode into a full-fledged riot unless he can somehow end it all, without surrendering the building and the neighborhood to the criminals.