New Releases by David Morrell

A writer in Victorian London turns detective to clear his own name in this historical mystery series debut by a New York Times –bestselling author. Winner of the Macavity and Nero Awards ALA Reading List Award for Best Mystery "A masterpiece . . .a fantastic historical thriller, beautifully written, intricately plotted, and populated with unforgettable characters... . . . If you liked The Alienist , you will absolutely love this book. I was spellbound from the first page to last." —Douglas Preston" "An absolute master of the thriller." —Dean Koontz Thomas De Quincey, infamous for his memoir Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, is the major suspect in a series of ferocious murders identical to ones that terrorized London forty-three years earlier. The blueprint for the killings seems to be De Quincey''s essay On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts. Desperate to clear his name but crippled by opium addiction, De Quincey is aided by his devoted daughter Emily and a pair of determined Scotland Yard detectives. In Murder as a Fine Art, David Morrell plucks De Quincey, Victorian London, and the Ratcliffe Highway murders from history. Fogbound streets become a battleground between a literary star and a brilliant murderer, whose lives are linked by secrets long buried but never forgotten. "A highly entertaining thriller. . . . An inspired blend of innovation, history, and gore. Murder is rarely this much fun." — Washington Post "Morrell writes action scenes like nobody''s business." — New York Times Book Review "A brilliantly plotted thriller that will take you to the cobble-stoned streets of Victorian London." — Entertainment Weekly

The New York Times–bestselling author of The Brotherhood of the Rose delivers the thrilling conclusion to his classic spy series in this acclaimed short story. In his debut novel, David Morrell introduced Chris and Saul, two orphans from Philadelphia who grew up to be professional assassins. Though Saul finally escaped the job, an unexplained attack on his village now motivates him to reenter the fray. In this Thriller Short, the acclaimed Mortalis series—including The Brotherhood of the Rose, The Fraternity of the Stone, and The League of Night and Fog—will have its final mystery revealed. And what would a Brotherhood story be without the Abelard sanction? Originally published in THRILLER (2006), Edited by #1 New York Times– bestselling author James Patterson.

Poliisipäällikkö Teasle löytää Rambon, kodittoman Vietnamin sodan veteraanin, vaeltelemassa kentuckylaisessa pikkukaupungissa. Hän ohjaa miehen kaupungin rajalle, pois kunnollisten kansalaisten silmistä. Kun Rambo ei suostu pysymään poissa, Teaslelle ei jää muuta vaihtoehtoa kuin sulkea mies vankilaan. Vankilaoloissa sotamuistot ottavat Rambon valtaansa. Hän hyökkää käyttämällä veistä ja karkaa vuorille. Tilanne pakottaa Teaslen jahtaamaan Ramboa, ja pian avuksi kutsutaan niin helikopteri kuin jälkikoiratkin. Taitavaksi sissisotilaaksi koulutettu Rambo haastaa poliisipäällikön piilostaan kiihkeätempoiseen sotaan, josta ei yllättäviä käänteitä tai vaaraa puutu. David Morrellin Rambo: Ajojahti herätti ilmestyessään närkästystä aran sota-aiheensa takia. Teos filmatisoitiin Taistelija-toimintaelokuvaksi vuonna 1982, jolloin Rambo nousi suursuosioon ympäri maailman. Rambo-sarja kuvaa Vietnamin sodassa sissiksi oppineen John Rambon vaiheita – räjähtävää toimintaa ja nokkelia juonenkäänteitä säästelemättä.

Ikoninen toimintasankari Rambo palaa kuvioihin hengästyttävän tiivistunnelmaisessa jatko-osassa! Vietnamin sodan veteraani John Rambo istuu vankilassa sovittaakseen tekonsa, kun tuttu komentaja tulee tarjoamaan vapautta. Tarjoukseen sisältyy kuitenkin ehto: Rambon on palattava vankileirille ja valokuvattava sinne jääneet jenkkisotilaat. Hänen ei tule pelastaa miehiä vaan ainoastaan selvittää, mitä heille on tapahtunut. Kostaminen on kiellettyä. Rambo tarttuu saamaansa oljenkorteen ja laskeutuu samaan, tappavan vaaralliseen helvettiin, josta on jo kertaalleen pelastunut. Pian mikään ei kuitenkaan pidättele häntä rikkomasta operaation ehtoja ja antautumasta taisteluun. Morrellin romaanista on filmatisoitu myös suursuosioon noussut elokuva \"Rambo - taistelija 2\" (1985). Rambo-sarja kuvaa Vietnamin sodassa sissiksi oppineen John Rambon vaiheita – räjähtävää toimintaa ja nokkelia juonenkäänteitä säästelemättä. David Morrell (s. 1943) on kanadalaissyntyinen kirjailija, jonka kirjoja on käännetty 30 kielelle. Hänet tunnetaan erityisesti trillereistään, joissa seikkailee sotaveteraani John Rambo.

Give me my brother, or I’ll give you your fiancée’s dismembered corpse… In this short story from the thrilling anthology MatchUp, bestselling authors Gayle Lynds and David Morrell—along with their popular series characters Liz Sansborough and Rambo—team up for the first time ever.

Chrise a Saula, dva chlapce vyrůstající v sirotčinci, váže navzdory rozdílnému původu pevné přátelství a také oddanost k Elliotovi, záhadnému muži, který je jako jediný navštěvoval a choval se k nim jako k vlastním synům. Když dospěli, vycvičil z nich profesionální zabijáky tak dobře, že je nemožné je zneškodnit. Jenže právě na tom závisí jeho život.

This “highly recommended” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) collection edited by New York Times bestselling author Lee Child pairs the beloved characters of twenty-two internationally bestselling writers in “a must-read for fans of the thriller genre” (The Real Book Spy). The incredible follow-up to FaceOff features twenty-two of the world’s bestselling and critically acclaimed thriller writers pairing their series characters in an eleven-story anthology curated by the International Thriller Writers (ITW). MatchUp takes the never-before-seen bestseller pairings of FaceOff and adds a delicious new twist: gender. “Think Dancing With the Stars, but with mysteries” (Booklist) as eleven of the world’s best female thriller writers from Diana Gabaldon to Kathy Reichs to Charlaine Harris are paired with eleven of the world’s best male thriller writers, including John Sandford, C.J. Box, and Nelson DeMille, among others. “This box holds a chocolate or two that will be to everyone’s liking” (Kirkus Reviews). In these innovative stories, their beloved protagonists, Lee Coburn, Joe Pickett, and Jack Reacher—just to name a few—team up to unnerve and satisfy thriller fans worldwide. All of the contributors are ITW members, and the project is edited by ITW member and #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child. The lineup includes: Sandra Brown’s Lee Coburn vs. C. J. Box’s Joe Pickett Val McDermid’s Tony Hill vs. Peter James’s Roy Grace Kathy Reichs’s Temperance Brennan vs. Lee Child’s Jack Reacher Diana Gabaldon’s Jamie Fraser vs. Steve Berry’s Cotton Malone Gayle Lynds’s Liz Sansborough vs. David Morrell’s Rambo Karin Slaughter’s Jeffrey Tolliver vs. Michael Koryta’s Joe Pritchard Charlaine Harris’s Harper Connelly vs. Andrew Gross’s Ty Hauck Lisa Jackson’s Regan Pescoli vs. John Sandford’s Virgil Flower Lara Adrian’s Lucan Thorne vs. Christopher Rice’s Lilliane Lisa Scottoline’s Bennie Rosato vs. Nelson DeMille’s John Corey J.A. Jance’s Ali Reynolds vs. Eric Van Lustbader’s Bravo Shaw

Legendary thriller writer David Morrell transports readers to the fogbound streets of London, where a killer plots to assisinate Queen Victoria. The year is 1855. The Crimean War is raging. The incompetence of British commanders causes the fall of the English government. The Empire teeters. Amid this crisis comes opium-eater Thomas De Quincey, one of the most notorious and brilliant personalities of Victorian England. Along with his irrepressible daughter, Emily, and their Scotland Yard companions, Ryan and Becker, De Quincey finds himself confronted by an adversary who threatens the heart of the nation. This killer targets members of the upper echelons of British society, leaving with each corpse the name of someone who previously attempted to kill Queen Victoria. The evidence indicates that the ultimate victim will be Victoria herself.

In 1969, while David Morrell was writing First Blood, the novel in which Rambo was created, he also wrote his doctoral dissertation about acclaimed author, John Barth. In it, Morrell analyses Barth’s early fiction, using interviews with Barth, his agent, and his editors as well as several of Barth’s unpublished essays and letters to tell what Morrell calls “the story behind the stories, a biography of Barth’s fiction.” Over the years, scholars have found John Barth: An Introduction invaluable for its lengthy biographical sections, which Barth himself approved. Fans of Morrell’s fiction will find this book enlightening in terms of what Barth taught him about writing. CRITICAL REACTION “David Morrell’s not just a fine writer; he’s also a great and generous teacher.” —New York Times bestselling author Lawrence Block “Morrell has written an interesting and informative book which reads occasionally like a biography. His prose is eminently clear and straightforward. His book has something for everyone. There is no doubt that it will become a necessity for serious students of Barth, and that, coincidentally, it is a genuinely interesting book.” —Journal of Modern Literature “Morrell’s study tells the story of Barth’s storytelling, how he got his ideas, and then how the publishers and reviewers dealt with them. He includes detailed biographical information [and] writes with great economy and clarity.” —Modern Fiction Studies “Morrell gives the reader the benefit of his familiarity with Barth and his manuscripts to plot the career of each work, from plans and, in some cases, research through revision, publisher-agent reactions, sales, and post-publication revisions. The whole enterprise is carried off with appealing confidence and informality that add up to an eminently readable book.” —World Literature Today

RAMBO (FIRST BLOOD PART II) The most dangerous man in the world is back. David Morrell''s First Blood introduced Rambo, who joined the ranks of Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, James Bond, and Harry Potter as an international thriller icon. In this sequel, Rambo is imprisoned for his one-man war against a small-town police chief. His former commanding officer, Colonel Trautman, arrives with a promise to release him. With two conditions. First, Rambo must return to the Vietnamese prison camp from which he escaped and find the missing Americans rumored to be prisoners there. The second condition? Don''t rescue the prisoners. Only bring back photographs. Under no circumstances engage the enemy. For Rambo, the first part is difficult. But the second is impossible. This special print edition contains a revealing, behind-the-scenes introduction as well as an equally revealing afterword-RAMBO AND ME: THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY.

Una fría noche de octubre, cinco personas se reúnen en la costa de Jersey para preparar el allanamiento del Hotel Parangon. Construido durante los años gloriosos de Asbury Park por un millonario, el magnífico edificio está ahora apuntalado y listo para su demolición. Las cinco personas son «allanadores», término que designa a los exploradores urbanos: arqueólogos de ciudad cuya pasión es investigar edificios abandonados y sus secretos. Esta noche los ha reunido un reportero que quiere escribir un artículo sobre ellos para The New York Times. Cuando el grupo se adentra en el túnel que conduce al hotel, se da cuenta de que el edificio es mucho más de lo que pensaban: un lugar arrasado por el tiempo y habitado por el mal.

From the bestselling author of the classic espionage saga, The Brotherhood of the Rose, comes a high-action spy novel about deception and the meaning of loyalty. . . . When a bureaucratic mistake allows a terrorist attack to occur, CIA operative Steve Decker leaves the spy world in disgust. Seeking a new life, he moves to picturesque Santa Fe, New Mexico, and for the first time allows himself to think about something other than global intrigue and violence. He even lowers his guard sufficiently to commit himself to a relationship, but after his lover’s house explodes and she is seen escaping with an unknown man, Steve discovers that she has a mysterious past and that she knows he once worked for the CIA. Did she love him, or was she only using him as a bodyguard? Drawn back into the world of deceit and treachery, Steve will stop at nothing in his desperate cross-country quest to find his lover and learn the truth. “David Morrell is a master of suspense. He wields it like a stiletto—knows just where to stick it and how to turn it. If you’re reading Morrell, you’re sitting on the edge of your seat.” Michael Connelly “Expect the unexpected…Romance, sex, violence, deception, intrigue, and characters who are bigger than life…A step above the rest of the suspense genre.” Denver Rocky Mountain News “Fast and furious action…This powerhouse thriller achieves a runaway victory on the basis of sheer storytelling excitement.” Publishers Weekly “Looking for an explosive action thriller? Or a literary novel with emotional depth and perfect prose? David Morrell’s latest will satisfy both tastes and then some.” Associated Press “A bullet of a read…A romantic thriller that examines violence, honor, and love.”Los Angeles Features Syndicate

David Morrell isn’t only an acclaimed thriller author and the creator of Rambo in his novel First Blood. He’s also a former professor of American Studies who writes in-depth profiles about film and music legends. Frank Sinatra’s dramatic life sometimes upstaged his genius. Although he was the greatest interpretive singer of the recording era, some commentators emphasize his boozing, brawling, and womanizing rather than his brilliance as a performer, or else they take his brilliance for granted rather than attempt to explain it. In FRANK SINATRA: THE ARTIST AND HIS MUSIC, award-winning author David Morrell discusses the talent and determination that led Sinatra to progress from being a singing waiter to becoming the Chairman of the Board. Many Sinatra fans might be surprised to learn that this intensely autobiographical singer had a face that was permanently scarred from birth. They might also be surprised that, despite the legend that he was a “natural” singer, Sinatra took vocal lessons from a Metropolitan Opera singer. In his formative years, he invented a new way for singers to breathe and used this amazing technique to channel his self-described manic-depression into interpreting songs as they had never been done before. These are only some of the topics that David Morrell analyzes in his rare approach to this powerful singer’s craft. Based on more than forty years of listening and reading, Morrell provides an in-depth analysis of Sinatra’s musical career. After you read it, you might never listen to Sinatra or any other singer the same way again.

David Morrell isn’t only an acclaimed thriller author. He’s also a former professor of American Studies who writes in-depth profiles about music and film legends. Frank Sinatra. Nat “King” Cole. Ella Fitzgerald. Judy Garland. Peggy Lee. Rosemary Cloony. Linda Ronstadt. No matter their various styles, these and other iconic popular singers had one thing in common—much of their best work was arranged by Nelson Riddle, whose renown within the world of arrangers rivaled that of the legends for whom he wrote. Indeed, some critics maintain that, if not for Riddle, Sinatra might not have overcome his mid-career failure and climbed to the superstar status that he eventually attained. In Nelson Riddle: The Man Behind the Music, bestselling author David Morrell discusses the career of a musical genius, who changed popular music and proved that a great arranger is as important as a great song and a great singer. This groundbreaking study describes Riddle’s remarkable achievements, analyzing the musical principles that made his arrangements so unmistakable and influential. At its core is the irony that a man whose music is described as “light” and “bright” should have been so bitter and disappointed in his life.

Award-winning author David Morrell created the character of Rambo in his 1972 novel, First Blood, which has been called “the father of the modern action novel.” Rambo went on to become one of the five most recognized thriller icons, along with Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, James Bond, and Harry Potter. In this in-depth essay, for the first time Morrell tells the full story about how the novel and Rambo were created. Among his new revelations, Morrell discusses how Audie Murphy, America’s most-decorated soldier of WWII, was the model for Rambo. Morrrell also describes how the riots and anti-war demonstrations of the late 1960s had a considerable impact on his novel. In addition to write First Blood, David Morrell is the acclaimed author of numerous New York Times bestsellers that include the classic spy trilogy The Brotherhood of the Rose, The Fraternity of the Stone, and The League of Night and Fog. An Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity nominee, Morrell is a recipient of three Bram Stoker awards as well as the International Thriller Writers’ prestigious lifetime Thriller Master award. “David Morrell is, to me, the finest thriller writer living today, bar none.” —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Columbus Affair “David Morrell is a master of suspense.” —Michael Connelly, New York Times bestselling author of The Lincoln Lawyer “Morrell, an absolute master of the thriller, plays by his on rules and leaves you dazzled.” —Dean Koontz, New York Times bestselling author of 77 Shadow Street

David Morrell isn’t only an acclaimed thriller author. He’s also a former professor of American Studies who writes in-depth profiles about film and music legends. Few movie stars made as great an impact as Marilyn Monroe. Although she died in 1962, a half century later she remains vivid in popular culture, even to those who have never seen her films. Two of the men she married—Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller—themselves made a powerful cultural impact. In this moving essay, bestselling author David Morrell analyses Monroe’s poignant life, which had more significance than any movie in which she appeared. Even her most knowledgeable fans will find something new in this in-depth homage to a star whose luster outshone her films.

David Morrell isn’t only an acclaimed thriller author and the creator of Rambo. He’s also a former professor of American Studies who writes in-depth profiles about film and music legends who changed our culture. Few film actors had the lasting popularity of John Wayne, especially in westerns. During his lifetime, Wayne was a top-ten box office star for twenty-four years. Three decades after his death, a 2012 Harris poll continued to place him among the top 5 most-liked film actors. In this comprehensive essay, award-winner David Morrell analyzes Wayne’s career in westerns and explores his fascinating personality, including his Latin studies in high school and his skills as a chess player. Even Wayne’s most knowledgeable fans will be surprised by this insightful study. Morrell’s fascination with Wayne motivated him to use this iconic actor as the inspiration for the main character of a historical novel LAST REVEILLE, which dramatizes America’s 1916 invasion of Mexico, supposedly to pursue the Mexican bandit, Pancho Villa, but actually to practice military exercises for America’s entry into World War I. Critical reaction: “John Wayne: the name still conjures political reaction and cinematic fascination. In this excellent e-essay, author David Morrell (First Blood) presents a thorough and evenhanded consideration of Wayne and his Westerns, from THE BIG TRAIL (1930) to THE SHOOTIST (1976). He’s precise about the narrative problems in THE SEARCHERS, insightful regarding the remarkable emotional range Wayne demonstrates in THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, and mystified at the meaning critics find in RIO BRAVO. While also examining Wayne’s drinking (16 martinis before a Thanksgiving dinner), smoking (five packs a day on THE ALAMO) and expertise as a chess player, Morrell allows us to appreciate and understand how Wayne, ‘an undeniable phenomenon,’ helped create that unique film category: John Wayne Westerns.” —Tom Clagett, ROUNDUP MAGAZINE (WESTERN WRITERS OF AMERICA) David Morrell is the award-winning author of First Blood, the novel in which Rambo was created. A former professor of American literature at the University of Iowa, he has written numerous New York Times bestsellers, including the classic Brotherhood of the Rose spy trilogy. The main character in Morrell’s western novel, Last Reveille, was inspired by Wayne’s career. “David Morrell is, to me, the finest thriller writer living today, bar none.” —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Columbus Affair “Morrell, an absolute master of the thriller, plays by his on rules and leaves you dazzled.” —Dean Koontz, New York Times bestselling author of 77 Shadow Street

One of the great literary mysteries of the twentieth century concerns J. D. Salinger. In the mid-1960s, the revered creator of The Catcher in the Rye suddenly stopped publishing and withdrew from public life. In David Morrell’s haunting “The Architecture of Snow,” an author similar to Salinger submits a manuscript after a four-decade absence. Why has he abruptly resurfaced? What caused his long-ago disappearance? When editor Tom Neal embarks on a search to a remote New England town, he uncovers the disturbing truth behind a tragic mystery that changes his life in unimaginable ways. David Morrell is the critically acclaimed author of First Blood, The Brotherhood of the Rose, and many other bestselling novels. An Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity nominee, he is a recipient of three Bram Stoker awards from the Horror Writers Association as well as the Thriller Master Award from the International Thriller Writers organization. His writing book, The Successful Novelist, discusses what he has learned in his four decades as an author. “Morrell, an absolute master, plays by his own rules and leaves you dazzled.” —Dean Koontz, New York Times bestselling author of 77 Shadow Street “David Morrell is, to me, the finest thriller writer living today, bar none.” —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Jefferson Key “Everything [David Morrell] writes has a you-are-there quality and that, coupled with his ability to propel characters through a scene, makes reading him like attending a private screening.” —Washington Post

In this tense, timely thriller, an interrogator finds himself in a remote bunker and an even more remote region of the human soul as he confronts the most hardened enemy he has ever faced and the most difficult choice he has ever been forced to make. “The Interrogator” asks the question: Are there moral limits to the way information should be obtained to defend one’s country? From acclaimed thriller author David Morrell comes this tense, timely tale about counter-terrorism. An interrogator finds himself in a remote bunker and in an even more remote region of the human soul as he confronts the most hardened enemy he has ever faced and the most difficult choice he has ever been forced to make. This e-story includes an introduction in which David Morrell, author of the classic spy thriller, THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE, discusses his espionage training. “Fast-paced, intelligent, exciting and hard-hitting.” —Nelson DeMille, New York Times bestselling author of The Lion “Nobody does this better than David Morrell.” —Lee Child, New York Times bestselling author of The Affair “The father of the modern action novel.” —Vince Flynn, New York Times bestselling author of Kill Shot David Morrell is the author of First Blood, the award-winning novel in which Rambo was created. His numerous New York Times bestsellers include the classic spy trilogy The Brotherhood of the Rose (the basis for the only television mini-series to premier after a Super Bowl), The Fraternity of the Stone, and The League of Night and Fog. An Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity nominee, Morrell is the recipient of three Bram Stoker awards and the prestigious Thriller Master award from the International Thriller Writers organization.

"Something is on the prowl in the forests and foothills outside the small Wyoming town of Potter''s Field, something that mutilates but does not feed, that kills indiscriminately and without reason, at night, by moonlight. As the body count mounts, police chief Nathan Slaughter and the town''s medical examiner try to find out who or what is doing the killing....Morrell embeds compelling human drama in a taut, hell-for-leather plot consisting of equal parts police procedural, medical detective story, biological horror story, disaster novel and Gothic thriller. Beneath its multi-genre surface, The Totem engages broader sociological issues....A thriller of rare ambition and achievement, as thought-provoking as it is exciting and scary." Washington Post Book World

From acclaimed action author David Morrell comes a short thriller based on bizarre actual events. On a blistering desert landscape in World War II, two armies face each other. One belongs to the legendary French Foreign Legion, but the other belongs to the French Foreign Legion also, one side working for the Allies, the other for the Germans. In this vivid historical recreation of one of the strangest battles in modern warfare, a terrible twist of Fate compels comrades-in-arms, who trained together, ate together, and slept in the same barracks, to become mortal enemies. David Morrell is the prize-winning author of First Blood, the novel in which Rambo was created. His numerous New York Times bestsellers include the classic espionage novel, The Brotherhood of the Rose, the basis for the only television miniseries to be broadcast after a Super Bowl. An Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity nominee, Morrell is a recipient of the International Thriller Writers’ prestigious Thriller Master award. “Nobody does this kind of thing better than David Morrell.” —Lee Child, New York Times bestselling author of The Affair “A titan among thriller writers.” —Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author of Buried Secrets

Reporter Tess Drake discovers a mysterious altar in the apartment of a friend whose charred body was discovered in a nearby park. The meaning of that altar propels Tess on a furious hunt for the truth about what happened to her friend, a labyrinth of intrigue and danger that leads to the highest levels of power as well as to the depths of a secret cave in Spain. Less From the master of high action comes a novel of deception and intrigue that paved the way for the history-based religious thrillers of Dan Brown, Steve Berry, and James Rollins. In 1244, at the infamous fortress of Montségur in southwestern France, Christian Inquisitors massacred the last vestige of a heresy known as Mithraism, once the dominant religion of the Roman Empire. But was the heresy in fact destroyed? In today’s New York City, reporter Tess Drake discovers a mysterious altar in the apartment of a friend whose charred body was discovered in a nearby park. The altar (a version of it exists in the British Museum) depicts a man astride a bull, plunging a knife into its neck while a dog, a scorpion, and a snake drink the blood. The meaning of that altar propels Tess on a furious hunt for the truth about what happened to her friend, a labyrinth of intrigue and danger that leads to the highest levels of power as well as to the depths of a secret cave in Spain. This special e-version of THE COVENANT OF THE FLAME has a revised text and an introduction in which David Morrell describes the unusual personal events that prompted him to write this novel. “A mega-thriller by any standard” —Associated Press “David Morrell is, to me, the finest thriller writer living today, bar none.” —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Jefferson Key “A master storyteller” —James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of The Devil Colony

The secret weapon developed by the man Cavanaugh is assigned to protect is like Kryptonite to the former Delta Force officer turned security guard--it multiplies the effects of adrenaline, a hormone associated with fear, so it incapacitates instead of energizing him. A lot of people want Daniel Prescott''s secret, but Cavanaugh, who''s felt the drug''s effects, wants his antidote. When Prescott disappears after causing the death of the Global Protective Services team charged with keeping him alive, Cavanaugh and his wife Jamie go after him in a high-speed chase that traps them between government agents and foreign operatives each racing to find the scientist first and kill him before he can use his formula on them. Despite Prescott''s double-dealing, and the bloody battle in a mountain redoubt that results in the deaths of his friends and colleagues, Cavanaugh knows the only way to banish the fear that may compromise his and Jamie''s own safety is to track the elusive scientist to his last refuge. In this propulsive thriller, Morrell turns the tables so often that it''s hard to separate the good guys from the bad ones, but that won''t keep readers addicted to violence, treachery, and high-tech weaponry from staying with it to the last surprising chapter. “Spectacular action backed by the author’s hands-on research . . . a horrifying climax . . . twists and turns . . . one of the best of the genre.”—Associated Press “Everything [Morrell} writes has a you-are-there quality, and that, coupled with his ability to propel characters through a scene, makes reading him like attending a private screening.”—Washington Post Book World “Impressive action . . . plenty of twists . . . most notable, though, is the advertised ‘tradecraft’—from clever ways to modify one’s ammo and armor to the very best method of taking out a car you’re chasing.”—Publishers Weekly “The story accelerates to warp speed, hurtles to a stunning climax. A wonderfully entertaining action adventure.”—Booklist

From the bestselling author of the classic Brotherhood of the Rose espionage saga comes a high-action thriller about the meaning of friendship and the naked edge between love and hate. He calls himself Cavanaugh. No first name, and even “Cavanaugh” isn’t his actual last name. He’s a protector. Once he had a boyhood best friend. They played in the woods near their homes, pretending to be soldiers surviving behind enemy lines. Grownup, they belonged to Delta Force and later worked for the world’s best security company. Now their lives have taken drastically different paths, pitting them against each other, forcing them to play their boyhood game again, this time to learn who dies. The survival of a great city hangs in the balance as two friends-turned-enemies hunt each other and discover that there’s a line between predators and prey, a line that’s called The Naked Edge. This e-book version of The Naked Edge contains numerous photographs of the classic knives described in the novel. These include the legendary knife that Warner Bros designed for Alan Ladd’s 1952 film about Jim Bowie, The Iron Mistress. Another of the many photographs depicts the most expensive knife in the world: a solid-gold replica of King Tut’s dagger. Praise for David Morrell “David Morrell is, to me, the finest thriller writer living today, bar none.” —Steve Berry New York Times bestselling author of The King’s Deception “David Morrell is a master of suspense. He wields it like a stiletto—knows just where to stick it and how to turn it.” —Michael Connelly, New York Times bestselling author of The Gods of Guilt “Morrell, an absolute master of the thriller, plays by his own rules and leaves you dazzled.” —Dean Koontz, New York Times bestselling author of Innocence

From New York Times bestselling author, David Morrell, comes a classic thriller that introduced the character of Rambo, one of the most iconic action heroes of the twentieth century. Called “the father of the modern action novel,” FIRST BLOOD changed the genre. Although the book and the film adaptation have similarities, they are very different, especially its unexpected ending and its greater intensity. If you’ve only experienced the film, you’re in for a surprise. Once they were soldiers. Rambo, the ragged kid whose presence in town is considered a threat. And Teasle, the Chief of Police of Madison, Kentucky. Both have been trained to kill: Rambo in Vietnam, Teasle in Korea. They learned different military tactics, different ways of death and survival in two different wars. Now, without warning, they are enemies in a civilian combat that becomes a chase through the woods and mountains and caves above the town. As we follow them, we understand that once a man has been trained as a killer, perhaps he is changed forever. Award-winning FIRST BLOOD was published in 1972, was translated into 26 languages, and has never been out of print. It was one of the first novels to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. David’s novelizations for RAMBO (FIRST BLOOD PART II) and RAMBO III are available as e-books. They’re quite different from the films and include revealing introductions. See also David’s RAMBO AND ME: THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY. Critical reactions: “A fine novel. . . . When Johnny comes marching home this time, watch out.” —The New York Times Sunday Book Review “A first-rate thriller.” —Newsweek “One of the finest chase novels you will ever read.” —Minneapolis Tribune “A terrific thriller.” —Saturday Review “One hell of a hard, fast novel.” —John D. MacDonald