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The doll is odd, carved out of wood, with long arms and huge hands. Little Sarah named it Mr. Hands and loved the doll until the day she was murdered. Now her mother, Lucy, discovers something amazing about Sarah's doll—it allows her to control another Mr. Hands. This Mr. Hands is a living, terrifying being with horrendous power. At Lucy's command he will do whatever she tells him—even kill. This is Lucy's chance to see justice is done. She decides who will live and who will suffer a horrible death, and Mr. Hands carries out the sentences without mercy. But once Mr. Hands is unleashed, will anyone be able to stop him?

Horror specialist Braunbeck has published so exclusively within the field that his books have largely eluded general review media. The novel and two stories in Coffin County show what those media, at least, have been missing. Set in and near Cedar Hill, Ohio, a midwestern version of Arkham, the capital of H. P. Lovecraft's personal Massachusetts, the novel is a pell-mell gore fest, whose supernatural perps leak from an alternate reality that interfaces with Cedar Hill. The hero is a cop still mourning his pregnant wife's death three years ago, and the villain may be, ultimately, either Judas Iscariot or the narrator, who's not naming names; we "may have figured it out" by the end, he says. Also set in Cedar Hill, one story presents a musical duel between fallen angels over the fate of humanity; the other, how deeply factory work can get into, if not a man's blood, then his bloodline. Piquantly exuding rust-belt angst, this is tasty stuff for those who like blood and guts seasoned with smarts.

After a devastating tragedy claims the lives of his wife and baby daughter, newscaster Robert Londrigan must enter a nightmarish realm of madness, truth, and terror when his daughter's body is stolen from the morgue by a mysterious disfigured man.

Everything changed for Gil Stewart on the day he saw the old man die. Gil had witnessed the bizarre accident on the highway and stopped to help. The old man couldn't be saved, but just before he died he clutched Gil's shirt and whispered a warning: "The Keepers are coming!" That was when Gil's nightmare began. At first he thought it was merely odd, a series of weird coincidences. Household pets started acting strangely. Zoo animals escaped. But now he can see a pattern emerging, a chilling reminder from a past that he can't--or won't--remember. As the true horror becomes clear, and terror builds upon terror, Gil can only await the coming of...the Keepers.

From award-winning author Gary A. Braunbeck comes Prodigal Blues, his first foray into non-supernatural horror.

After he finds himself stranded at a truck stop in Missouri, Mark Sieber gets one of the biggest shocks of his life when he recognizes the face of a little girl on a Missing poster as belonging to the same little girl he saw only a few minutes before. Looking around for some sign of her, he comes back to his table in the restaurant to find the little sitting there, waiting for him.

"I'm sorry, mister," is all she seems capable of saying.

As the police and media begin to converge on the truck stop, Mark retreats back to his hotel room to call his wife and let her know what's going on, only to be taken hostage by the same people who released the little girl. But his abductors are little more than children themselves.

Ranging in ages from 12 to 19, Mark's abductors are in the process of escaping from a sadistic pedophile known to them only as "Grendel" a man whose practices include torture and mutilation specifically, mutilation of the face.

Mark's abductors have all been mutilated by Grendel who may be very close behind them and need someone with a "normal face" to help them carry out their plan for justice and returning home.

For the next few days, Mark will come to understand not only the inhuman horror that these children have suffered, but how they eventually learned to fight back and how they discovered that Grendel and his practices are at the center of a very complex network catering to those who tastes run toward the molestation and mutilation of children.

Prodigal Blues is perhaps Braunbeck's most suspenseful and emotionally powerful work to date; a story of suffering, depravity, redemption, and in the end the individual's compassion for his or her fellow human beings that can lead some people to finding reserves of courage and determination they never thought they possessed.

Terrifying, suspenseful, sometimes surprisingly funny, and ultimately moving, Prodigal Blues is quintessential Braunbeck.

When his wife dies giving birth to a stillborn child, Robert Londrigan's grief quickly turns to horror with the theft of his dead daughter's body. As his hold on reality fades, he encounters a mysterious man named Rael who rules over an underground haven filled with children who may or may not be dead. Though not for the squeamish, Braunbeck's first solo novel nevertheless presents a compelling and disturbingly graphic exploration of grief and redemption that should appeal to fans of dark fantasy and psychological horror.

Table of Contents:

• Concerns of the Mind and Soul (Redux): An Introduction - essay by J. N. Williamson
• Wandering the Borderlands - short story by Poppy Z. Brite
• Haircut - short story by Richard Matheson
• Recall - short story by Ray Garton
• Ghost in Autumn - (2006) - short story by Christopher Conlon
• The Black Wench - (1985) - short story by Ray Russell
• FYI - short story by Mort Castle
• Phantom of the Rainbow - short story by Thomas Sullivan
• Just A Little, Just Enough - short story by Sharon Cullers
• The Net - short story by Jack Ketchum and P. D. Cacek
• Disappearing Act - short story by Barry Hoffman
• Stirrings - short story by Kealan Patrick Burke
• The Sheets Were Clean and Dry - short story by Lucy A. Snyder
• Saintkiller - short story by Joseph Nassise
• In a Hand or Face - short story by Gary A. Braunbeck
• Moths in Damp Grass - short story by Tracy Knight
• A Thousand Words - short story by Judi Rohrig
• Making Cabinets - short story by Richard Christian Matheson
• For Whom We Mourn - short story by Geoff Cooper
• Atomic Possums - short story by George Ibarra
• Mr. Handlebars - short story by Mark Powers
• In the Empty Country - short story by Ron Horsley
• Action Figures - short story by John Maclay
• How Sweet It Was - short story by Thomas F. Monteleone
• Waters Dark and Deep - short story by Tim Waggoner
• Making Faces - short story by Tom Piccirilli
• Killing Charlie - (2003) - short story by William F. Nolan
• Intent to Deceive - short story by Ed Gorman
• Outcry - short story by J. N. Williamson
• The Beautiful Shave - (1979) - short story by Ray Bradbury

Welcome to Cedar Hill, Ohio, a deceptively commonplace bordertown between the familiar everyday and the phantasms, fancies, hauntings, and enchantments that wait in dimly-lit places for a chance to pass through the scrim of perception & make this place their home, as well. Those who live here don't really have any choice and neither will you. Cedar Hill: "Main Street" tinged with the macabre, located just this side of night. This is the first of approximately 3-5 volumes to be published by Earthling collecting the author's stories set in his fictional town of Cedar Hill. Each collection will feature original stories as well as reprints that have been reworked for this collection, plus historical elements such as family trees and a town map. Deena Warner provides cover art and over two dozen interior illustrations. For those buyers who desire a complete set of matching numbers/letters, we will record the name of each buyer, who will be given first dibs at future volumes.

The series continues...

Longer than GRAVEYARD PEOPLE (Volume 1), HOME BEFORE DARK contains 19 tales, including the long-awaited original novella "Kiss of the Mudman," two classic novellas, excerpts from the Cedar Hill Visitor's Guide, a page from the local newspaper, and much more, with a full-color wraparound dustjacket and over two dozen interior illustrations.

Matching numbers to GRAVEYARD PEOPLE are offered; please forward your GRAVEYARD PEOPLE number with your preorder. (Note that copies of GRAVEYARD PEOPLE are still available.)

Volume 1 was hailed as "absolutely essential reading for anyone who values dark literature...a treasure trove of some of the most emotionally engaging fiction in the horror field" (Cemetery Dance). Without question, HOME BEFORE DARK is a worthy successor that continues collecting some of the finest tales from master storyteller Gary Braunbeck. Two volumes down, one to go...