Updike's first collection of new short fiction since the year 2000, "My Father's Tears" finds the author in a valedictory mood as he mingles narratives of his native Pennsylvania with stories of New England suburbia and of foreign travel.

Several million bucks, stolen from the mob, all caught on video, with no chance of redemption. Now one man must face the entire Chicago Outfit, a group of hardened Mafia enforcers, a psychotic bookie, the most dangerous hitman on earth, and Detective Jacqueline Daniels. His name is Tequila. And he likes those odds.

"Across the six-planet expanse of the Gaia system, the Earthlike Gretia struggles to stabilize in the wake of an interplanetary war. Amid an uneasy alliance to maintain economies, resources, and populations, Aden Robertson reemerges. After devoting twelve years of his life to the reviled losing side, with the blood of half a million casualties on his hands, Aden is looking for a way to move on. He's not the only one. A naval officer has borne witness...

Kevin Halloran had defied his lofty family tradition in order to wed lower-class Lacey Granger…and he'd been a better man for it. Surely, then, there was no dragon he couldn't slay to honor and protect his beloved bride. Yet time and tide proved unstoppable…and youthful passion was eclipsed by doubt. Worse, white knight Kevin took a near-mortal blow. Would Lacey be able to slay the dragon of time so that this fallen knight would rise again? Vows:...

With the execution of a serial killer known as the Artiste, Cheyenne Donegal thinks a grim part of her past is finally put to rest. Her cousin had been the twisted killer's final victim, and then-teenage Cheyenne was integral in bringing him to justice. That tragedy drove her to become an FBI agent. And now she's back in Louisiana because someone is murdering young women in the same manner as the Artiste. Krewe of Hunters agent Andre Broussard has...

For decades, the top-secret Red Cell Seven unit has operated beyond the reach of the law--defending the United States by any means necessary, with absolute impunity. But the tables have turned, and the untouchable anti-terror squad is under attack. Determined to end Red Cell Seven's ruthless, lawless existence, the US president has tapped military assassin extraordinaire Skylar McCoy to lead a covert search and destroy mission. But McCoy isn't the...

Half a century after the Doomsday Battle, the uneasy balance of Dark Forest Deterrence keeps the Trisolaran invaders at bay. Earth enjoys unprecedented prosperity due to the infusion of Trisolaran knowledge. With human science advancing and the Trisolarans adopting Earth culture, it seems that the two civilizations can co-exist peacefully as equals without the terrible threat of mutually assured annihilation. But peace has also made humanity complacent....

Eager to start their life together, historian Vickie Preston and Special Agent Griffin Pryce take a detour en route to their new home in Virginia and stop for a visit in Baltimore. But their romantic weekend is interrupted when a popular author is found dead in the basement of an Edgar Allan Poe-themed restaurant. Because of the mysterious circumstances surrounding the corpse, the FBI's Krewe of Hunters paranormal team is invited to investigate. As...

When Clara Avery, an entertainer working on the Fate, an Alaskan cruise ship, goes to nearby Bear Island, she comes across a scene of bloody mayhem. She also comes across Thor Erikson, who will soon be a member of the FBI's elite paranormal unit, the Krewe of Hunters. Thor's been sent from the Alaska field office to investigate several grotesque killings, with the dead posed to resemble the victims of notorious murderers. The prime suspect is a serial...

A series of bizarre assaults is mystifying Boston police: an unknown attacker is viciously beating random strangers and leaving a note quoting an old warning about witchcraft. History professor Alex Maple was one of the victims, and now he's gone missing. Vickie Preston is certain that someone has taken her friend for malicious purposes. She's having blood-drenched visions that seem to be staining her waking life, and the escalating attacks suggest...