The Brink of Everything: Eight Mysteries & Thrillers Set in Isolation
It’s a classic tale: a trip that starts out like the perfect vacation. Then a snowstorm seals a group of strangers in an inn without power, and people start to go missing. Or an avalanche buries a ski party in a cabin, and one by one, the guests begin to die. Or hikers who think they’re alone in the woods suddenly find themselves the target of a murderer. Who is responsible, and why. These eight mysteries & thrillers push their protagonists to the very edge until they question who they can trust…or if they can even trust themselves.
Not all secrets are meant to be found.
Nolan Moore is a rogue archaeologist hosting a documentary series derisively dismissed by the "real" experts, but beloved of conspiracy theorists.
Nolan sets out to retrace the steps of an explorer from 1909 who claimed to have discovered a mysterious cavern high up in the ancient rock of the Grand Canyon. And, for once, he may have actually found what he seeks. Then the trip takes a nasty turn, and the cave begins turning against them in mysterious ways.
Nolan's story becomes one of survival against seemingly impossible odds. The only way out is to answer a series of intriguing questions: What is this strange cave? How has it remained hidden for so long? And what secret does it conceal that made its last visitors attempt to seal it forever?
Sisters Imogen and Beck and their friend Tilda were very close in high school. Over the years, they've drifted apart, but when Imogen suffers a traumatic experience, Beck thinks a hiking trip through nature is what they need to heal their friendship and themselves. But as the women get further and further into isolation in the Grand Canyon’s backcountry, it becomes apparent that their past isn't the only thing following hot on their heels.
Ethan and Allison Serbin run a wilderness survival program in the Montana mountains near Hannah Faber, who lives in the fire lookout tower. They all live quiet peaceful lives, until the day that fourteen-year-old Jace Wilson joins the program. What they didn't know is that Jace is in witness protection after seeing a brutal killing and has been sent away for his own safety. And the killers will stop at nothing—and leave no one alive—in order to find him and keep him from testifying. This is now a major motion picture with Angelia Jolie and Nicholas Hoult.
After the end of a long, horrible marriage, retired dancer Maeve Martin is ready for a change. She enrolls in a retreat in the Rocky Mountains at the High Water Center for the Arts, hoping to learn skills to help her pursue her dream of opening a dance academy. At first, the beautiful scenery and fresh air are just what Maeve needs to help her feel better. But then nature takes a dangerous turn when an avalanche crashes down on the retreat, trapping Maeve and six other attendees inside without power or food. And if that wasn't bad enough, it turns out one of the guests is a murderer.
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And here's an isolation thriller with a twist: it's set in space! Maria Arena awakens aboard the starship Dormire, covered in blood, and with no memory of what happened to her. She's one of seven cloned crew members who normally wake up in the cloning vat with a memory of what happened to their last version. But this time, several clones have died at once, leading Maria to suspect that there's a killer with a dangerous agenda aboard the ship—but which one of them is it?
When the bodies of two Indigenous women are found in the wilderness of northern California, it is only the latest horrific development in a string of similar crimes in the area. Despite all evidence to the contrary, officials rule the deaths isolated incidents, which soon join the ranks of countless other unsolved cases quickly dismissed by law enforcement.
In a town where too many injustices are tolerated or brushed under the rug, only a few people remain who refuse to let a killer walk free. But Private Investigator Sharon McCone is one of those few. She is hired by an organization called Crimes against Indigenous Sisters to go undercover in Meruk County—a community rife with secrets, lies, and corruption—to expose the truth.
In an isolated cabin in the freezing, treacherous woods, McCone must work quickly to unravel a mystery that is rooted in profound evil—before she becomes the killer’s next target.
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