Ben Sawyer was a big-city cop, until he nearly killed a helpless suspect in public. Now a detective in the tiny Wisconsin town where he and his wife grew up, Ben suspects that higher-ups are taking payoffs from local drug lords. Before long, Ben is off the force. His wife is accused of murder. His only ally is another outcast, a Latina rookie cop. Worse, a killer has escaped from jail with vengeance on his mind, and Newburg --- and Ben Sawyer --- in his sights.

Famous, beautiful and talented, Heike Gunn has the world at her feet. Then, one day, she simply vanishes. Meanwhile, journalist Jack Parlabane has lost everything: his career, his marriage, his self-respect. A call for help from an old friend offers a chance for redemption --- but only if he can find out what happened to Heike. Pursued by those who would punish him for past crimes, Parlabane enters the secret-filled world of Heike’s band, Savage Earth Heart, whose members each seem to be hiding something. He must dredge up old secrets to find Heike before it’s too late.

What started out as a joke landed 17-year-old Dillon Yates in a lockdown juvenile facility in Boston Harbor. When he set up a prank Twitter account for his vice principal, he never dreamed he could be brought up on criminal charges. Judge Joe Scali gives speeches about getting tough on today’s wild youth. But Dillon’s mother, who knows other Blackburn kids who are doing hard time for minor infractions, isn’t buying Scali’s line. She hires Spenser to find the truth behind the draconian sentencing.

A tragedy occurs at a small concert venue on the Monterey Peninsula. Cries of "fire" are raised, sending people running for the doors, only to find them blocked. A half-dozen people die and others are seriously injured, though there was no fire. Kathryn Dance --- a brilliant California Bureau of Investigation agent and body language expert --- discovers that the stampede was caused intentionally and that the perpetrator, a man obsessed with turning people's own fears and greed into weapons, has more attacks planned.

When Jen, the largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found, surfaces in Sherriff Walt Longmire’s jurisdiction, it appears to be a windfall for the High Plains Dinosaur Museum --- until Danny Lone Elk, the Cheyenne rancher on whose property the remains were discovered, turns up dead. With millions of dollars at stake, a number of groups step forward to claim her, including Danny’s family, the tribe and the federal government. Walt is determined to find out who would benefit from Danny’s death.

Detective Lindsay Boxer is called to a gruesome crime scene, where a woman has been murdered in broad daylight. As she investigates, shocking video footage of another crime surfaces. Their faces obscured by masks, the cold-blooded criminals on the tape could be anyone --- and now all of Lindsay's co-workers are suspects. As a rash of violence sweeps through San Francisco, Lindsay and her friends must risk their lives in the name of justice before it's too late.

On a cool night in May, a teenage foster child named Anlya Paulson plummets to her death from a San Francisco overpass. But did she fall...or was she pushed? Homicide inspectors focus their attention on a likable but naïve middle school teacher and volunteer foster care advocate. At first, his only connection to Anlya’s death is the meal they shared earlier that night. But soon his story falls apart, and Rebecca Hardy, now an associate at her father’s law firm, is drawn into his defense. When a dying woman’s last words cast a surprising new light on the evidence and problems develop with a key witness, the father-daughter duo begins to glimpse the intricate web that connects the young victim to the city’s complex political and judicial machine.

Crooked Sheriff Harry Gauge rules the town of Trinidad, New Mexico, with an iron fist. His latest scheme is to force rancher George Cullen into selling his spread and to take Cullen's beautiful daughter, Willa, for his bride --- whether she's willing or not. The old man isn't about to go down without a fight. He sends out a telegram to hire the west's toughest gunslinger to kill the sheriff. But when a stranger rides into Trinidad, no one's sure who he is --- but it's deadly clear he's a man who won't be pushed.

Young couples gather to participate in an annual "chainsaw party," cutting down trees for firewood in anticipation of the winter. A group of men spend a weekend hunting for mushrooms in the wilderness where they grew up and where some still find themselves trapped. An aging environmentalist takes out his frustration and anger on a singular, unsuspecting target. Together, the 10 stories in Nickolas Butler’s collection evoke a landscape that will be instantly recognizable to anyone who has traveled the back roads and blue highways of America.

A young Navajo man comes into Charlie Henry's pawn shop, claiming that his girlfriend mistakenly pawned a beautiful family heirloom, a turquoise necklace that she desperately needs back. When he's unable to produce any proof of this tale, Charlie is immediately suspicious. Then the young man returns with reinforcements --- and guns --- making it abundantly clear that there's more to this story than a family treasure. This necklace quickly becomes the focus of a case where everyone lies, and every question seems to answer with gunfire.