This one-of-a-kind collection features stories from some of the biggest names in mystery and fantasy-blending the genres into a unique hybrid where PIs may wear wizard's robes and criminals may really be monsters. Sit in on a modern-day witch's trial, visit the halls of a magical boarding school with murder on the curriculum, spend some time with Sookie Stackhouse, visit London's hidden world of the Nightside, and become spellbound with eight more tales of magical mystery. Introduction - Dana Stabenow Cold Spell - Donna Andrews The Nightside, Needless to Say- Simon R. Green Lovely - John Straley The Price - Anne Bishop Fairy Dust - Charlaine Harris The Judgement - Anne Perry The Sorcerer's Assassin - Sharon Shinn The Boy Who Chased Seagulls - Michael Armstrong Palimpsest - Laura Anne Gilman The Death of Clickclickwhistle - Mike DOogan Cairene Dawn - Jay Caselberg Justice is a Two-edged Sword - Dana Stabenow About the Authors

From video game characters seeking civil rights and a cave dragon loan shark pondering an investment, to Santa Clause's Australian vacation and an enemy of Sam Spade's seeking revenge-plus visits to the Nightside and Sookie Stackhouse's hometown—Unusual Suspects invokes a dozen imaginative tales featuring otherworldly investigators trailing uncanny criminals across fantastical realms governed by the laws of magic.

Edgar-award winning author Dana Stabenow is best known for her Kate Shugak novels, but the unifying protagonist of almost all her writing - be it crime, fantasy, horror, or science fiction - is Alaska. This genre-spanning collection of 16 short stories features familiar characters like Kate and Jim, Liam and Wy, and Bill and Moses, but also ranges farther afield than many listeners will expect, leaping from modern-day Anchorage to 22nd-century Mars to the fantasy kingdom of Mnemosynea. Remarkably disparate, but indisputably Stabenow, whose fertile imagination is anything but predictable. Titles in this collection: "Nooses Give", "Conspiracy", "Under the Influence", "Wreck Rights", "Cherchez la Femme", "Siren Song", "The Eyak Interpreter", "Any Taint of Vice", "On the Evidence", "Missing, Presumed...", "The Perfect Gift", "Gold Fever", "Cheechako", "No Place Like Home", "Justice Is a Two-edged Sword", and "A Woman's Work". Newly added in this edition, find "Collected Essays" and "Dana on Writing" as well!