"Four novellas set in a shared universe include the tales of a cursed novel that drives people to their deaths, a lonely child with dangerous control over an unusual pop-up book, and a choose-your-own adventure game that turns uncannily real."--

Following the success of his latest novel, Travis Glasgow and his wife Jodie buy their first house in the seemingly idyllic western Maryland town of Westlake. At first, everything is picture perfect—from the beautiful lake behind the house to the rebirth of the friendship between Travis and his brother, Adam, who lives nearby. Travis also begins to overcome the darkness of his childhood and the guilt he's harbored since his younger brother's

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"In the quiet suburb of Harting Farms, the weedkly crime blotter usually consists of graffiti or the occasional bout of mailbox baseball. But in the fall of 1993, children begin vanishing and one is found dead. Newspapers call him the Piper because he has come to take the children away. But there are darker names for him, too... Vowing to stop the Piper's reign of terror, five boys take up the search. Their teenage pledge turns into a journey of self-discovery...and...

Secret Service agent John Mavio infiltrates the infamous Hell's Kitchen in New York to shut down a ring of organized crime leaders in an elaborate counterfeit money operation, perhaps the worst in history.--From publisher's description.