Cole Hampton’s military service and tough upbringing come in handy when solving dangerous problems for the less fortunate. But against his will, he’s tasked with finding a missing woman. When the search leads down dark pathways, he must deal with an array of desperate crooks and killers.

Here are eleven tales of crime and mystery. Tales of people of all ages making desperate choices, calculated choices, and survival choices. Everything from killers and junkies on the run to innocents caught in a web of danger. Darkness and fear rule, and surprises occur when some think they’re safe at last. It’s Crime Time, and it’s a black, cold street at night here…

Starr Wyman is hedged in on all sides: caring for her war-broken brother, tormented by her crooked father, still in mourning for the disappearance of her mother. Her father, the Bible-quoting “Wint” Wyman, dismisses her herbalist work as witchcraft, but when a body drops and her brother is responsible, Wint calls on Starr to make the corpse disappear.
Enter the mysterious Jase Patton, hunting an ivory artifact owned by Wint Wyman. Starr agrees to help Jase recover the piece, in exchange for a new life far away. But neither Jase nor the treasure are all that they seem, and Starr must deal with a wound no herbal treatment can cure.

Welcome to Resurrection, a former mining company town with too many dark secrets, where science and religion form a shady alliance. Sixteen-year-old Judy Winstead is forced to move there with her recently widowed mother, but finds few allies among the tight-lipped townsfolk. People who stand out or speak out endanger themselves, while dreadful experiments and worse take place in the caverns and tunnels beneath the town.

There is much to learn in the modern world of Independent (Indie) book publishing, and more competition for sales every day. This book details the methods used by a number of successful writers, both traditional and Indie. Covers a great deal of material: adapting to the mindset for a long career, creating your business profile, setting goals and expectations, where and how to publish and sell, and how to stay productive and motivated. An extensive list of resources points you to further areas of study and help.

Mayu is a lonely old woman existing at the fringes of her village, but when a baby falls from the heavens, her life changes forever.  The Baby Who Fell From the Sky is an endearing new fable rich with shamanic ritual, Peruvian tradition, and a touch of magic.

Louise suspects that her father’s drinking and failed marriage were because of what happened to him in Vietnam, but he couldn’t talk about it and now he’s dead. Unemployed and alone, Louise’s life is falling apart just like her father’s had. But an address from Dad’s footlocker lures her to Vietnam on a quest to learn about his past—and about herself.

An explosion and a jetliner crash kill hundreds of Russian tourists in Central Asia. As China withdraws her investments in fear of more terrorism, Russian troops flood the area. Vit Partenkas, owner of the Lithuanian watchdog group Baltic Watch, suspects the president of Russia, Vera Koslova, has a secret agenda. If he fails to prove his theory, freedom in Central Asia will erode to nothing. If he succeeds, he incurs Koslova’s wrath.

Russian president Vera Koslova seeks to regain the supremacy her once-mighty country has lost by becoming the world’s largest provider of natural gas. But a team of Eastern European cyberterrorists plot to attack her new pipeline in a desperate attempt to stop her unrelenting pursuit of power. 

When a Russian coup elevates a ruthless new leader to power, the military threat level in Eastern Europe rises exponentially. Fearful of imminent war, a Lithuanian radical builds a dirty bomb from nuclear material stolen from the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. Hoping to force NATO to intervene, the radicals plan to detonate the bomb at the Russian Embassy in Kiev, Ukraine.

World War II is over, but the fighting in Eastern Europe continues as Lithuanian resistance fighters wreak havoc on the Soviet occupiers. Their guerilla tactics incite Russian leaders to amass their power against the tiny resistance. But sheer force is not enough as the freedom fighters join Polish partisans, and a Soviet spy infiltrates the camp of the Amber Wolf.

When the brutal Russian soldiers invade 1940’s Lithuania, they ravage the countryside and the people. After her mother is murdered, young Ludmelia Kudirka flees to the safety of the forest. Vowing vengeance, she joins the partisans fighting for freedom in a David-and-Goliath struggle against the mighty Soviet war machine.

A Russian officer ordered to crush the partisans becomes enraged by Ludmelia’s escape, and the guerrilla warfare that is harassing his forces. Marshaling his killer instincts, he pursues Ludmelia and her fellow warriors into the dark forest, where he encounters something he never expected.

“Amber Wolf is enjoyable as a narrative, edifying as history, and inspirational as a story of struggle, survival, and ethnic pride–the David of Lithuania is caught between the twin Goliaths of Russia and Germany. What can a young girl do? You’d be surprised.“
— Steve O’Connor, author of The Witch at Rivermouth and The Spy in the City of Books

Lonely Lily Phelps is orphaned and in debt at seventeen – but that’s not the worst of her problems. Her dark past, hidden even to her, causes her to see ghosts. A scared, naïve girl must grow up fast in a rural community if she is to find work, love, and have a future. She learns to cope, but the weight of the past threatens everything she loves. Because of her terrible secret, Lily must protect her family from the worst danger of all – herself.

“Ursula Wong writes with a terse, sure voice, creating characters who are memorable and whose speech rings with overheard “country” honesty. Rich with insights into rural life, family, love, death, and redemption, from its frantic opening lines to its satisfying resolve, Purple Trees is a strong debut by a writer we are sure to hear from again.”
– David Daniel, author of Reunion and Six Off 66

When LA detective Jim Lloyd reluctantly returns to his NJ hometown for a final funeral, the ghosts of the past combine with the perils of the present, and he is pulled into a world of secrets, deceit, and danger.

While searching for a missing man, Zack Taylor stumbles across another body. Though it looks like a suicide, Zack doesn’t buy it, and he tampers with the crime scene to keep the police on the case. They do so, but are suspicious of Zack’s involvement. More than his freedom is at stake, though, because as pieces of the dead man’s activities become known, the danger mounts for Zack and the woman who hired him.

“I’ll bet a sawbuck Dale Phillips’ PI Zack Taylor is related to Lawrence Block’s Matt Scudder. It wouldn’t surprise me either if he were also a distant cousin of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer on one side and Robert Parker’s Spenser on the other. Except instead of Boston or New York, Taylor works the hardscrabble streets of Maine. Phillips’ style goes down as smoothly as a fine bourbon and his writing is as mean as any junkyard dog.”
— Dave Zeltserman, author of Small Crimes

Zack Taylor’s life is once again in shambles. Having narrowly escaped death, guilty over the pain he’s caused a loved one, he’s hurting and angry. When looking into the disappearance of a reporter, Zack’s death wish may be his cure for his troubles as he uncovers corruption and evil in a world of politics, passion, and power.

“I’ll bet a sawbuck Dale Phillip’s PI Zack Taylor is related to Lawrence Block’s Matt Scudder. It wouldn’t surprise me either if he were also a distant cousin of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer on one side and Robert Parker’s Spenser on the other. Except instead of Boston or New York, Taylor works the hardscrabble streets of Maine. Phillip’s style goes down as smoothly as a fine bourbon and his writing is as mean as any junkyard dog.”
–Dave Zeltserman, author of Small Crimes

“A Sharp Medicine, the fifth Taylor outing, churns forward with the dark inevitability of Classical Greek drama, revealing as it goes a penetrating awareness of the violent dimensions of present day America. Dale Phillips is hitting bull’s eyes with this one.”
–David Daniel, author of the award-winning Alex Rasmussen mystery series and Inflections & Innuendos

Trapped by a final promise to a dying woman, a reluctant Zack Taylor seeks her missing grandson, a slippery con man of the art world. Zack discovers the corruption beneath the glossy exteriors, confronting murder, greed, fraud, and a host of crimes that belie the beauty of the art in which the people deal.

“A work of excellence. Each page turns with adventure and enthusiasm. The main character – although he is ‘larger than life’ in some ways is a completely believable character anyone can identify with. A great read.“
– Amazon Customer

Ex-con Zack Taylor is desperately trying to build a better, saner life, but Fate has a different plan. His new business venture is threatened, his girlfriend has dumped him, and now a verngeful killer has been freed to stalk Zack once again.
Things get complicated when a mysterious recluse hires Zack to consult on a movie. Zack is adrift in a world of shadows, and must separate the real from the unreal. Someone doesn;t want the film to be made, and small acts of sabotage escalate.
Then people start dying, and Zack has another killer to deal with.

“A great summer read. A flawed character trying to find his way — generally on the right side of the law. Zack has his own sense of right and wrong, but you’ll find yourself rooting for him, even when you disagree with his methods. Short chapters allow for stopping points, but you probably won’t stop very often. If you haven’t read the previous two books in the Zack Taylor series (“A Memory of Grief” and “A Fall From Grace”), you’ll be looking them up.“
– Janice (Amazon)

When a single mother is wrongly accused of murder, Zack Taylor must work to clear her name. Not an easy task, as everyone in the Maine town of Mill Springs thinks she’s guilty. Zack finds, however, plenty of people who wanted the victim dead. As the events around him begin to spiral out of control, Zack begins to do the same.

“Zack Taylor is back and ready to rumble. In A Fall From Grace, he digs in like a pit bull to exonerate a woman accused of murder and find the real killer. The answers lie buried within small town politics, dysfunctional family relations and crooked land deals, but finding the truth can exact a cost. Dale Phillips delivers a powerful and ultimately haunting sequel to his debut novel, A Memory of Grief.”
—Debbi Mack, NY Times best-selling mystery author of Identity Crisis and Least Wanted

Ex-con Zack Taylor is a man drifting through life, haunted and guilt-ridden from a past gunshot tragedy. When his friend dies in Maine of an apparent suicide, Zack is driven to pursue the truth. With only his wits and physical skills, he takes on life-threatening opponents, including an aggressive karate instructor, drug-dealing bikers, and a sinister crime gang. Despite finding a new love, his rage and ghosts drive him closer to the edge as he takes ever-greater risks with the law and his life.

“Dale Phillips writes a clean, efficient prose and spins a yarn that’s as gritty
as any I’ve read in recent years. There’s humor, violence, ghosts, and
sex–all the good stuff that has driven stories forever.”
–David Daniel, author of the prize-winning Alex Rasmussen series and, more recently, Coffin Dust.

This collection combines the first three Zack Taylor mysteries into one volume. Contains A Memory of Grief, A Fall From Grace, and A Shadow on the Wall.

“Here’s the great thing about buying the boxed set: you get to watch Zack grow and mellow out a bit, as author Dale Phillips hits his stride in the third book. The characters get richer as Zack lets himself trust people. Foils like the bad cop Lagasse can surprise you, a cynical stuntwoman-turned-script girl leaves Zack’s ex-girlfriend in the shade. I hope she comes back to complicate Zack’s love life, and I wouldn’t mind seeing Theo again. Old Zack’s on a learning curve, and I want to see how he does in the next book. I’m in it for the long haul.”
— Lisa Lieberman, author of All the Wrong Places

In the snowy Canadian wilderness, a terrifying legend springs to life, sparking a series of gruesome crimes. Government agent Sean Laporte is sent to investigate, and must contend with an obsessive, resourceful foe, a hostile environment, and an elusive search for the truth. He is soon pulled between worlds of myth and madness, a present haunted by the past, and a primitive world of mystery and power.

“In the exciting new genre of cryptofiction-meets-horror, the prolific writer Dale T. Phillips brings his talents to the fore. Join Dale on this exciting journey, written with a sound cryptozoological foundation, full of many surprises, at every twist and turn, along these shadowed, forested pathways. Highly recommended.”
–Loren Coleman, Cryptozoologist, Author, Documentary Consultant, and Director of the International Cryptozoology Museum, Portland, Maine

Here are five books combined into one big volume of stories, thirty tales in different genres: crime, mystery, science fiction, horror, fantasy, magic , and even a little realism.
Strange new worlds and encounters with the unusual, in stories from light to dark. Some to make you laugh, some to make you think, and some to scare you. Dip into the Big Book for a taste of monsters, mayhem, myth, magic, and murder.

“I highly recommend this collection if you are into short story collections. The range of genres promises to keep you entertained and the collection as a whole is far from boring!“
– Dab of Darkness