Most Popular Books by David Morrell

CREEPERS, David Morrell''s gripping joyride of a thriller, depicts every harrowing second in eight hours of relentless terror. A New York Times bestseller, it received the prestigious Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association. On a cold October night, five people gather in a run-down motel on the New Jersey shore and begin preparations to break in to the Paragon Hotel. Built in the glory days of Asbury Park by a reclusive millionaire, the magnificent structure—which foreshadowed the beauties of art-deco architecture—is now boarded up and marked for demolition. The five people are "creepers," the slang term for urban explorers: city archeologists with a passion for investigating abandoned buildings and their dying secrets. On this evening, they are joined by a reporter who wants to profile them—anonymously, as this is a highly illegal activity—for a New York Times article. Frank Balenger isn''t looking for just a story, however. And after the group enters the rat-infested tunnel leading to the hotel, it becomes clear that he will get much more than he bargained for. Danger, terror, and death await the creepers in a place ravaged by time and redolent of evil. The darkest secrets live in places you’re not supposed to be. “Chilling.” —Stephen King, New York Times bestselling author of Doctor Sleep “Crack this novel, and it’s like an alien abduction of your brain—forget resuming your normal life until it’s finished. This will be a classic.”—Douglas Preston, New York Times bestselling co-author (with Lincoln Child) of White Fire “With its nonstop cascade of ingeniously contrived dangers and assaults, culminating in an apocalyptic finale, Creepers provides the essence of all thrillers, an intense emotional effect that will leave readers drained.”—Washington Post

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

They were orphans, Chris and Saul -- raised in a Philadelphia school for boys, bonded by friendship, and devoted to a mysterious man called Eliot. He visited them and brought them candy. He treated them like sons. He trained them to be assassins. Now he is trying desperately to have them killed. From the master of high action comes a classic espionage thriller that changed the way spy novels were written, the first to combine the British tradition of authentic espionage tradecraft with the American tradition of non-stop action. He visited them in the orphanage. He brought them candy and taught them to love him as a father. He trained them to be assassins. Now he is trying desperately to have them killed. Spanning the globe and decades of CIA history, THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE is a thriller of fierce loyalty and violent betrayal, of murders planned and coolly executed, of revenge bitterly, urgently desired. “David Morrell is a master of suspense. He wields it like a stiletto—know 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 “Imagine a suspense thriller as riveting as The Thirty-Nine Steps or Rogue Male, featuring heroes the equal of Adam Hall’s Quiller, and crackling with more action than The Road Warrior, Dirty Harry, and The Seven Samurai. Sounds too good to be true? Then just read David Morrell’s THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE.”—Washington Post Book World “Fast-paced, intelligent, exciting and hard-hitting.” —Nelson DeMille, New York Times bestselling author of The Panther “David Morrell is, to me, the finest thriller writer living today.” —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Columbus Affair

A former government assassin is lured out of his self-imposed exile by a mysterious mass murderer determined to destroy him in this classic thriller by the bestselling author of "First Blood."

From the bestselling author of First Blood comes a spectacular thriller, in which a former Navy SEAL and a Japanese samurai master are bound together in a terrifying past that never happened.

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.

Amid thousands of Christmas tourists in snowy Santa Fe, a terrifying hunt is in progress. Wounded and on the run, spy Paul Kagan frantically seeks a haven for himself and a precious bundle he conceals under his coat. The bundle is a baby with the power to change the world. The pursuers are three ruthless enemies who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the child. When Kagan takes shelter in what seems to be a deserted home, he discovers an abandoned woman and her young son. As death lurks outside the house, these three unlikely allies prepare for a siege that will change their lives forever and perhaps the lives of millions of others. In The Spy Who Came for Christmas, David Morrell retells the Christmas story against a background of espionage and action. Dramatizing the strength of the holiday spirit, he again shows the inventiveness that prompted the International Thriller Writers organization to give him its prestigious ThrillerMaster award.

"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

The notorious Opium-Eater returns in the sensational climax to David Morrell''s acclaimed Victorian mystery trilogy. 1855. The railway has irrevocably altered English society, effectively changing geography and fueling the industrial revolution by shortening distances between cities: a whole day''s journey can now be covered in a matter of hours. People marvel at their new freedom. But train travel brings new dangers as well, with England''s first death by train recorded on the very first day of railway operations in 1830. Twenty-five years later, England''s first train murder occurs, paralyzing London with the unthinkable when a gentleman is stabbed to death in a safely locked first-class passenger compartment. In the next compartment, the brilliant opium-eater Thomas De Quincey and his quick-witted daughter, Emily, discover the homicide in a most gruesome manner. Key witnesses and also resourceful sleuths, they join forces with their allies in Scotland Yard, Detective Ryan and his partner-in-training, Becker, to pursue the killer back into the fogbound streets of London, where other baffling murders occur. Ultimately, De Quincey must confront two ruthless adversaries: this terrifying enemy, and his own opium addiction which endangers his life and his tormented soul. Ruler of the Night is a riveting blend of fact and fiction which, like master storyteller David Morrell''s previous De Quincey novels, "evokes Victorian London with such finesse that you''ll hear the hooves clattering on cobblestones, the racket of dustmen, and the shrill calls of vendors" (Entertainment Weekly).

When a man''s family is abducted following the seeming reappearance of his long-lost brother, he''ll go to any lengths to save them in this heart-pounding thriller by award-winning author David Morrell. Brad Denning is a successful architect living a perfect life in Denver with his loving wife and son. Or so it would be, if not for the haunting memory of his brother Petey who disappeared while under Brad''s supervision when they were kids. Now, a man claiming to be his sibling has mysteriously appeared and Brad is eager to take him in, despite the man''s haggard appearance and reluctance to reveal anything about his past. "Petey" is a welcome addition to the family, until a camping trip goes terribly wrong and Brad returns home to find that his devoted wife and son have been abducted. Certain that Petey -- or whoever he may be -- is responsible for the horrible crime, Brad sets out to recover his family. Traveling alone through America''s heartland, it''s a race against time as Brad struggles to get to his family before the terrible secret of what really happened long ago destroys everything he cares about.

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.

Marine Corporal James Newson, caught in the tension of combat against suicide bombers and insurrectionists in Afghanistan, finds he is fighting alongside Captain America, or perhaps imagining the superhero''s presence, as his courage and drive to help his squad is bolstered.

The exciting final installment in THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE trilogy David Morrell’s international thrillers have no equal. Among his classic novels, THE LEAGUE OF NIGHT AND FOG stands as one of his most exciting, ambitious, and brilliant works. Here is a novel that literally spans the globe, bringing together two generations of men and women bound by one murderous legacy. From the Vatican to the Swiss Alps, from Australia to the heartland of America, the master operatives of the Brotherhood of the Rose and the Fraternity of the Stone join forces to solve a violent mystery. Why have ten old men been abducted from around the world? As Saul and Drew investigate, they encounter a terrifying cycle of revenge that began in World War II and now forces sons to pay for their fathers’ darkest sins. This special edition e-book contains a Brotherhood of the Rose short story, “The Abelard Sanction,” that completes the saga. “Splendid, state-of-the-art . . . action/adventure . . . Morrell’s forte is action, and there is plenty of that here.” —Washington Post Book World “A wildly Ludlumesque thriller . . . an exciting and entertaining adventure.” —Publishers Weekly “An ambitious, violent, and enthralling novel that has everything. . . . Recommended.” —Library Journal “Terrific action scenes” —Cleveland Plain Dealer “A master of suspense" —Michael Connelly “Morrell, an absolute master of the thriller, plays by his own rules and leaves you dazzled.” —Dean Koontz

Morrell recounts the powerful story of watching his 15-year-old son wage a heroic but doomed struggle with bone cancer--an unforgettable story of fierce love, impenetrable loss, and an unexpected, breathtaking encounter with the miraculous.

A brilliant historical mystery series begins: in gaslit Victorian London, writer Thomas De Quincey must become a detective to clear his own name. Thomas De Quincey, infamous for his memoir Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, is the major suspect in a series of ferocious mass 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.

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

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

David Morrell has been a successful novelist for more than forty years, an eternity when many literary careers end after twenty years. His debut novel FIRST BLOOD introduced the character of Rambo, an international icon that became the basis for a blockbuster movie franchise. His classic espionage novel THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE was the basis for the only television miniseries to be broadcast after a Super Bowl. An Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity nominee, David received three Bram Stoker awards and the prestigious thriller master award from International Thriller Writers, among other honors. During his numerous decades in the publishing world, David has seen vast changes, and yet the principles of effective fiction writing remain the same. Using a conversational tone that will make you think he is actually speaking to you, he describes every facet of writing fiction, including the all-important “Why do you want to do something this insane?” His chapters about description and dialogue will instantly improve your writing. His discussions about the business of writing and the world of Hollywood will give you a rare insider’s look behind closed doors. His advice about how to get published and about self-publishing will help you chart your course. But The Successful Novelist is more than a how-to book. It will teach you about yourself as well as about your writing. It will help you find your own unique voice and subject matter, the essential elements of a long, successful career. Praise for THE SUCCESSFUL NOVELIST “This is the best guidebook to both writing and the business of writing that I’ve ever read.” —Peter Straub, New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Story “I found the acute observations and [David Morrell’s] narrative philosophy more valuable for the new writer than the contents of any 100 other texts.” —Dean Koontz, New York Times bestselling author of Innocence “If this book had been available when I started writing, I could have saved myself some miles, some heartache, and a lot of typewriter ribbons. The Successful Novelist is the vehicle you want if you plan to drive your way to successful fiction.” —Joe R. Lansdale, New York Times bestselling author of Edge of Dark Water “David Morrell’s not just a fine writer; he’s also a great and generous teacher. This book’s a keeper.” —Lawrence Block, New York Times bestselling author of A Walk among the Tombstones “David Morrell isn’t just one of the best thriller writers out there; he’s one of the finest writers alive today. A preeminent novelist as well as storyteller.” —Providence Journal

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

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 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.

Nineteen of Young''s essays study American fiction, the works of Hemingway, and Young''s own unique critical standard. Young reveals the "so what?" that he insisted all literary studies ought to have by demonstrating the impact of American writing on culture and myth.

A thrilling and suspenseful short story collection from bestselling and award-winning author David Morrell. David Morrell, whose many bestsellers include Double Image, Extreme Denial, and The Brotherhood of the Rose, has consistently redefined the modern thriller. Now he turns to a darker side of suspense in a powerful collection of tales, many of them award winners, that delve into the weird, uncanny terrors that lurk just beneath the comforting surfaces of daily life. Fear of loss, fear of pain, fear of madness, fear of being trapped, fear of the inescapable, unspeakable horrors that fester deep within the soul.... No matter who or where you are, fear is always with you, always ready to attack from behind the masks of thought and dream. Let David Morrell tell you a story...

Master of the high-action thriller, David Morrell is a five-time New York Times bestselling paperback author (First Blood, The Covenant of the Flame). Back in print after eight years, Testament--a chilling novel of a race for survival against a fanatical white supremacy group--is newly repackaged to kick off Warner''s much-in-demand Morrell backlist program.

The most riveting reads in history meet today''s biggest thriller writers in Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads.Edited by David Morrell and Hank Wagner, Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads examines 100 seminal works of suspense through essays contributed by such esteemed modern thriller writers as: David Baldacci, Steve Berry, Sandra Brown, Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, Tess Gerritsen, Heather Graham, John Lescroart, Gayle Lynds, Katherine Neville, Michael Palmer, James Rollins, R. L. Stine, and many more.Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads features 100 works - from Beowulf to The Bourne Identity, Dracula to Deliverance, Heart of Darkness to The Hunt for Red October - deemed must-reads by the International Thriller Writers organization.Much more than an anthology, Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads goes deep inside the most notable thrillers published over the centuries. Through lively, spirited, and thoughtful essays that examine each work''s significance, impact, and influence, Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads provides both historical and personal perspective on those spellbinding works that have kept readers on the edge of their seats for centuries.

Warner''s highly successful backlist program for David Morrell (The Fifth Profession) continues with Last Reveille, a newly repackaged thriller classic. After Pancho Villa''s bloody 1916 raid on the New Mexico border, the U.S. Cavalry enlists the help of wilderness fighter Miles Calendar.

Intrigue and danger follow a man who is searching for his father''s grave in France.