First Thrills. Edited by Lee Child

285 Pages·2011·1.46 MB·English

by  Lee Child

12 LITERARY LEGENDS
13 RISING STARS
1 MUST-HAVE COLLECTION OF FIRST THRILLS
Con men and killers, aliens and zombies, priests and soldiers - just some of the
characters that thrill and kill in this compelling collection of gun-toting, double-
crossing, back-stabbing, pulse-pounding stories.
Jeffery Deaver investigates the suspicious death of a crime-writer in 'The Plot';
Karin Slaughter's grieving widow takes revenge on her dying ex-husband in
'Cold, Cold Heart'; Stephen Coonts discovers a flying saucer in the depths of the
ocean in 'Savage Planet' and John Lescroart's secret field agent finds himself
caught up in a complex game of cat-and-mouse in 'The Gato Conundrum'.
Handpicked by world number one Lee Child, celebrity authors and stars of the
future are brought together, writing brand-new stories, especially commissioned
for this must-have collection. Whether you're reading today's bestseller or
tomorrow's phenomenon, grisly horror or paranoia thriller, historical suspense or
supernatural crime, one thing's for certain. You'll be thrilled to the core.
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Lee Child is the internationally bestselling author of fourteen Jack Reacher
thrillers, including the New York Times bestsellers The Enemy, One Shot, The
Hard Way, and the #1 bestselling Bad Luck and Trouble and Nothing to Lose. His
debut, Killing Floor, won both the Anthony and the Barry awards for Best First
Novel, and The Enemy won both the Barry and the Nero awards. Child, a native
of England and a former television director, lives in New York City.
FIRST
THRILLS
High-Octane Stories from
the Hottest Thriller Authors
FIRST
THRILLS
HIGH-OCTANE STORIES FROM THE
HOTTEST THRILLER AUTHORS
EDITED BY AND WITH A BRAND NEW STORY FROM
LEE CHILD
First published in the United States of America in 2010 by St. Martin’s Press.
This edition first published in Great Britain in 2011 by Corvus, an imprint of Atlantic Books Ltd.
Copyright © 2010 by International Thriller Writers, Inc. All rights reserved.
The moral right of Lee Child to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in these stories are either
products of the authors’ imaginations or are used fctitiously.
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-1-84887-692-7 (hardback)
ISBN: 978-1-84887-693-4 (trade paperback)
eBook ISBN: 978-0-85789-264-5
Printed in Great Britain.
Corvus
An imprint of Atlantic Books Ltd
Ormond House
26-27 Boswell Street
London WC1N 3JZ
www.corvus-books.co.uk
Copyright Acknowledgments
Introduction copyright © 2010 by Lee Child
“The Thief” copyright © 2010 by Gregg Hurwitz
“Scutwork” copyright © 2010 by CJ Lyons
“The Bodyguard” copyright © 2010 by Lee Child
“Last Supper” copyright © 2010 by Rip Gerber
“After Dark” copyright © 2010 by Alex Kava and Deb Carlin “Wednesday’s
Child” copyright © 2010 by Ken Bruen “Eddy May” copyright © 2010 by Theo
Gangi
“The Plot” copyright © 2010 by Jeffery Deaver
“Eye of the Storm” copyright © 2010 by John Lutz and Lise S. Baker “The Dead
Club” copyright © 2010 by Michael Palmer and Daniel James Palmer
“Underbelly” copyright © 2010 by Grant McKenzie
“The Gato Conundrum” copyright © 2010 by John Lescroart “The Princess of
Felony Flats” copyright © 2010 by Bill Cameron “Savage Planet” copyright ©
2010 by Stephen Coonts “Suspended” copyright © 2010 by Ryan Brown
“Invisible” copyright © 2010 by Sean Michael Bailey “When Johnny Comes
Marching Home” copyright © 2010 by Heather Graham “On the Train”
copyright © 2010 by Rebecca Cantrell “Children’s Day” copyright © 2010 by
Kelli Stanley “My Father’s Eyes” copyright © 2010 by Wendy Corsi Staub
“Program with a Happy Ending” copyright © 2010 by Cynthia Robinson
“Killing Carol Ann” copyright © 2010 by J. T. Ellison “Chloe” copyright ©
2010 by Marc Paoletti
“Cold, Cold Heart” copyright © 2010 by Karin Slaughter “Calling the Shots”
copyright © 2010 by Karen Dionne Afterword copyright © 2010 by Steve Berry
We dedicate this collection to
our friends and families for their unending support
and to our readers: you are the reason we do what we do.
Because of all of you, we can write what we love.
Thanks for reading!
Contents INTRODUCTION * Lee Child
THE THIEF * Gregg Hurwitz
SCUTWORK * CJ Lyons
THE BODYGUARD * Lee Child
LAST SUPPER * Rip Gerber
AFTER DARK * Alex Kava and Deb Carlin
WEDNESDAY’S CHILD * Ken Bruen
EDDY MAY * Theo Gangi
THE PLOT * Jeffery Deaver
EYE OF THE STORM * John Lutz and Lise S. Baker
THE DEAD CLUB * Michael Palmer and Daniel James Palmer
UNDERBELLY * Grant McKenzie
THE GATO CONUNDRUM * John Lescroart
THE PRINCESS OF FELONY FLATS * Bill Cameron
SAVAGE PLANET * Stephen Coonts
SUSPENDED * Ryan Brown
INVISIBLE * Sean Michael Bailey
WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME * Heather Graham
ON THE TRAIN * Rebecca Cantrell
CHILDREN’S DAY * Kelli Stanley
MY FATHER’S EYES * Wendy Corsi Staub
PROGRAM WITH A HAPPY ENDING * Cynthia Robinson
KILLING CAROL ANN * J. T. Ellison
CHLOE * Marc Paoletti
COLD, COLD HEART * Karin Slaughter
CALLING THE SHOTS * Karen Dionne
AFTERWORD
Acknowledgments
A lot of people work very hard behind the scenes to bring a book to life. A
collection like this involves even more work because of the number of authors
involved. We would like to thank these unsung heroes:
Scott Miller and everyone at Trident Media Group, for their unending
enthusiasm and hard work in bringing this project to life.
Our editor, Eric Raab, his assistant, Whitney Ross, and everyone at Tor/Forge,
for taking our words and giving them a home.
International Thriller Writers’ board of directors, for their inspiration and
guidance. The ITW staff who work tirelessly to keep everything in working
order. ITW’s Debut Author Program, which provides new authors with support,
encouragement, and camaraderie.
And, finally, our guardian angels: Lee Child, Steve Berry, Liz Berry, Jon
Land, Kim Howe, and Eileen Hutton.
Thanks, guys! We couldn’t have done any of this without you!