Rob Jeffers has it all: fame, money, and the life of a rock and roll star. Frank Peters is a regular guy, a newspaper reporter who just happens to have a passing acquaintance with the Great Jeffers. As Jeffers's career shoots up, Peters's fortunes follow in his wake. And when Jeffers passes away at the height of his fame, Peters’s life begins a steady unravelling. Until a chance encounter on a minor story gives him a new outlook on the celebrity lifestyle, and new hope for his own future.

The last year had not been kind to Det. Helen Lipscomb. She'd bungled a major case, been reassigned from her squad, and had her partner taken away from her. A trained homicide investigator, she could only watch from the sidelines as her former teammates nabbed the bad guys. Then a new serial killer appeared, one who targeted the detectives themselves, and Helen found herself back in the action as she raced to put the pieces together and keep any more of her fellow cops from falling to the killer's gun.

Sure, Ron Green had made a mistake, but it wasn't one that millions of other guys hadn't made before him. And maybe he deserved some sort of punishment, like his wife leaving him or his kids hating his guts. But this? Being the main suspect in a single murder was bad enough, but at the same time knowing he was a potential victim of a serial killer was even worse. However, before Green could convince the cops of his innocence, he first had to convince them the serial killer actually existed, and at the moment they weren't believing a thing he said.

Helen Lipscomb seemingly has nowhere to go but down. Cashiered from the force, ostracized by most of her former acquaintances, and with no real connections left to the community, she's been getting by as a sort of unofficial investigator, doing piecework for various lawyers and bail bondsmen. Her former life as a homicide detective seems far behind her until a notorious serial killer, locked away and facing the death penalty, offers her the challenge of a lifetime. Not to prove his innocence, but to prove him guilty of even more murders than the authorities suspect, murders for which another convicted man, several states away, is taking credit.

Desperation is the same in any language. Madness respects no borders. Greed and revenge transcend cultural differences. In this third collection of stories from Plan B Magazine, we find tales from all the corners of the crime world. From Cold War espionage to small town stick-ups, high-powered diplomacy to the opportunism of poverty, these are stories of the darkness of the human heart. And once in a while, how the light of our common humanity can transcend that darkness. Table of Contents: "Sirens" by Gary Cahill "House Cleaning" by Ian Creasey "Murderous Lies" by Peter DiChellis "Doing God's Work" by Wayne Scheer "Um Peixe Grande" by Patti Abbott "Loveable Alan Atcliffe" by S.R. Mastrantone "Slice" by Tom Barlow "How Green Was My Valet" by John H. Dromey "The Least Of These" by BV Lawson "Miscellany" by Eryk Pruitt "Stars & Stripes" by Jed Power "Alten Kameraden" by Ed Ahern "The Farm" by Kevin R. Doyle

They kept to the shadows so no one would know they existed, and preyed on the nameless who no one would miss. Where did they come from, and who was protecting them? In a city that had seen every kind of savagery, they were something new, something more than murderous. And one woman who had thought she had lost everything there was to lose in life would soon find that nothing could possibly prepare her for what would come when she entered their world.

When a divorced woman's employing a private investigator turns dangerous, she has to hire a second detective, Sam Quinton, to protect her privacy and possibly her life.

When the murder of a young woman pulls private investigator Sam Quinton into a politically-charged case, he becomes the target of both the local power structure and the police he's attempting to aid.

Sociology professor Felix Thayer is brilliant but hateful. When his colleague Michael Hartness is found murdered in his office, it doesn't surprise anyone that Thayer is arrested for the crime.

Sam Quinton hadn't thought much about the entertainment business for several years. His days as a minor celebrity were part of his past, which was fine with him. But when a Hollywood producer walks through the doors of his gym and offers to create a TV show around his life, Sam doesn't say no right away. Then the producer's partner ends up dead in her hotel room, and Sam has to put on his private detective hat to straighten things out. It doesn't take long to realize the TV offer may not have been exactly what it was cracked up to be. Suddenly, a whole lot of seemingly bad folks are gunning for Sam. Forget his budding Hollywood career. He has to do everything possible to keep himself and his client alive.