New Releases by Joe Stephens

Kyle & Corey Holley (15 and 12) live in Fairly Springs, a small southern beach town. Kyle is a budding engineer; Corey is impetuous, funny and sports-crazy. Like most brothers, they fight often, but they also solve crimes-like the rash of recent robberies around town. When Kyle and Corey investigate, they learn that in each robbery, the thieves stole a high-end desktop computer. Why? What are they looking for? And how soon till they find it? Other complications include Corey's wheelchair-bound math tutor, Kyle's after-school job in a local game store and a revolutionary new video game launching soon. Kyle and Corey: Brothers. Best Friends. Detectives. They don't go looking for trouble; it has them on speed dial!

It's the last thing he expects to happen when he joins his boss at church. Private detective in training Harry Shalan sees a name from his past in the church bulletin. It's his best friend's old high school flame. Then he hears the voice of an angel and falls in love with her on the spot. But Dee Baxter isn't the scrawny little redhead he barely knew back home. A gorgeous, talented woman now, she falls just as hard for him. The instant chemistry is intense and undeniable, so they're in the unique situation of getting to know each other after they become a couple instead of before. But they don't even get a chance to go on a proper date before they are faced with a life-altering crisis. It quickly becomes clear that Harry's chosen vocation will pose several challenges to their relationship. Will their bond be strong enough to withstand them? In the process of moving back to his West Virginia hometown, and before he's even officially hung up his shingle, Harry finds himself investigating the case of a newly engaged couple. It seems Jane Smith and Richard Gray are madly in love, but Jane keeps receiving letters from an anonymous person claiming Richie is cheating on her. Jane is convinced of his fidelity, but something is going on with Richie that just doesn't add up. Will Harry prove the prospective groom is faithful? Will he find out who's writing the letters? For Harry and Dee, however, another question hits a little closer to home. As he races to solve the case and save a life, will Harry make it back safely to Dee?

Why is private eye Harry Shalan standing on the Fifth Street Bridge contemplating how much he would mind if he fell in the river and didn't come back up? You see, Harry lives by a strict code of honor and is struggling not to hate himself because he broke his code--badly. He lost control and brutally attacked his foster daughter Jenn's biological father, Antonio Bezaleel. Bezaleel is more monster than human and everyone agrees that he deserves a punishment much worse than the one Harry dealt out to him. Nonetheless, Harry's act has sent him into a spiral of despair that has cut him off from the very people he needs the most. His wife and detective partner Dee, his foster daughter Jenn, and his best friend Otis are fighting to bring their hero back from the brink. In the midst of this dark episode, Harry and Dee answer a cry for help from an old friend who is accused of savagely murdering and mutilating her ex-husband. She swears that she didn't kill him, but things don't look good. She was, after all, found by the police kneeling over the man covered in his blood and gripping the knife that had been used to kill and dismember him. Their investigation brings them in contact with a precocious six-year-old who swears the murder was committed by a ninja, and he just may be the key to the case. They also encounter an old classmate of Harry's who is a little more appreciative of Dee's anatomy than anyone's comfortable with, a guy who likes to snort coke and cut women's hair, and even a hooker with a heart of gold. They also meet a quiet young woman named Anita Rathbone who seems quite sweet on Otis, a man married to his job since the only woman he's ever wanted is married to his best friend. Does Otis finally find a woman to love? Does Harry learn to forgive himself and accept the forgiveness of those who care for him? Do the Shalans solve the crime and save their friend from a life behind bars? The answers are revealed in... DAWN OF GRACE: A SHALAN ADVENTURE

Local high school student Jenn Bezaleel is missing and the police are at a loss. It's like she vanished without a trace and no one knows anything. So they call in Harry Shalan, who, at the urging of his extremely pregnant wife, Dee, takes the case. But when Harry starts looking into Jenn's disappearance, he uncovers some dark family secrets, leading him to conclude that, assuming he can find her, the last place this girl needs to be is back with her mother and stepfather. Just as Harry begins to make progress on the case, however, tragedy strikes that threatens to tear Harry and Dee apart forever. Will they find Jenn Bezaleel? If so, where will she go? Can Harry and Dee survive their heartbreaking loss? The answers are... In The Shadow.

Alyssa Hillman thinks she may have killed her husband Willy. And she's not sure how she feels about that. On one hand she loves him and is just too nice a person to be a killer, even if in self-defense. On the other, she also hates him a little because he's an abusive brute from whose savage rape attempt she's barely escaped with her life. So Alyssa comes to Harry and Dee Shalan, private eye team extraordinaire, for help. At first they're trying just to find out if Willy is alive, but it isn't long before he proves himself not only alive but also quite unhappy and more than a little insane. In the course of the investigation, Harry and Dee meet Willy's younger brother Happy, Willy's opposite in nearly every way. Happy's wife Marissa is not only Alyssa's best friend but could pass for her twin sister. Happy is forced to choose between two unthinkable options. Does he help his sociopathic sibling? If not, he risks bringing public shame to his beloved wife. In this modern re-imagining of the parable of the prodigal son, brothers battle over family honor, respect, and even the women who love them. Kisses and Lies is the follow up to Joe Stephens' critically acclaimed debut novel, Harsh Prey.

HARRY SHALAN has waited for three months to hear from his wife DEANNA, who went away to decide if she could deal with the dangerous nature of his job as a private detective. Unfortunately, on the morning she finally calls, he's involved in an attempted murder-of which he's the intended victim. With the help of his neighbor, Harry thwarts the bad guys, one of whom indicates the hit was put out by JOHNNY TUTTLE, one of his oldest and dearest friends. This sends Harry on the hunt to find out if the accusation made by the hit man is true, and if so, what could possibly have motivated his mentor to want him dead. Before Harry can get out of town, Deanna reappears. After a long discussion and a few other extracurricular activities, Harry offers to give up his job, but Deanna concedes that for him to do that would be to give up being the man she fell in love with. She would rather live with the fear of losing him than live with herself knowing she had allowed him to stop being the hero he was born to be. Harry drives to Chicago to search for Johnny Tuttle. Deanna plans to fly out the next day and join Harry. She doesn't make it, though, as she is kidnapped. BERNHARD STULTZ, one of her captors, is a dark version of Harry himself, although the version of the chivalric code by which he governs his life varies somewhat from Harry's. Regardless, Stultz agrees to free Deanna in exchange for a promise from Harry that he will drop the search for Tuttle. Finally back in each other's arms, Deanna and Harry decide the best way to cope with the danger of Harry's profession is to share it, so they become private eye partners. Fast forward five months. Harry and Deanna are enjoying Thanksgiving dinner at his parents' house when Harry finds he has several missed calls and some ominous voicemails from Tuttle. A cop friend informs Harry and Deanna that the calls have originated from a cell near the Shalans' house, so Deanna and Harry, hoping to save Johnny, hike home through a freak snowstorm. They find him hiding there, exhausted and injured. He weaves a chilling tale of how, several years earlier, with a seemingly innocent ten dollar bet, Johnny lit a fire of gambling addiction that took months to quench. By the time he got control of himself again, he'd gambled away his entire life savings and allowed himself to become hopelessly in debt to his mob-connected bookie. The next morning, Harry awakes to find that Bernhard Stultz has reappeared. Knowing that Stultz lives by his own code, Harry encourages Johnny to tell his story in the hopes that the hit man will see the injustice of taking Johnny and his wife back to face certain death at the hands of Stultz' boss, Merton Bell. Harry's instincts are right, and Stultz agrees to appeal to Bell on Johnny's behalf. In the meantime, Harry, Deanna, and Johnny, along with Johnny's wife Lilith, go on the run. But no matter how hard they work to cover their tracks, it seems that Bell's men are waiting for them. Eventually, Harry and Deanna begin to suspect that Lilith is hiding something. Their fears are confirmed when Lilith suddenly disappears, leaving behind evidence that she has not only been in touch with Bell, but has been carrying on an affair with him. Johnny, unhinged by this revelation, bolts from Harry and Deanna back to Chicago to get back the woman he loves. Harry and Deanna rush to Bell's home to find Johnny Tuttle and Merton Bell in a standoff with Bell holding Lilith hostage. Harry and Deanna step in, but an unexpected turn of events leaves Harry clinging to life and Deanna praying for a miracle.