In this first part of her Gothic mystery trillogy, best-selling author Joyce Carol Oates introduces Xavier Kilgarvan: romantic hero and amateur detective. He must discover who has murdered an innocent babe while it slept in his mother's arms. This turn-of-the-century tale of monstrous deeds and heart-stopping suspense will leave you eagerly looking for the next Kilgarvan case.

Two hitmen in a depressed rust belt town struggle with a job gone wrong. A girl witnesses a horrifying accident and carries it with her for the rest of her life. Medical students bring a severed foot to a college party. Five-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Joyce Carol Oates has made a career of exploring the forbidden corners of human experience, and the stories collected here, spanning her first three decades as a writer, are among her most unsettling...

Joyce Carol Oates paints a haunting tapestry of American life in 22 short stories that take the listener from tempestuous inner cities to isolated rural backwaters. Obsession with loss, fear of betrayal, and sudden violence plague Oates' characters as she examines the lives of the working poor and follies of the irresponsible rich with searing clarity. George Guidall's and Barbara Caruso's masterful performances make this rich collection of stories...

Joyce Carol Oates' hilarious take-off on a classic Southern play begins when liberated Hedda arrives home to visit the family estate, ruled by the family's tyrannical patriarch, “Tiny” Culligan. Tiny doesn't know what to make of Hedda's intellectual boyfriend, Saul. But then, Saul doesn't know what to make of Hedda's sister, the slinky Maggie, who finds Jewish professors very sexy indeed. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Charles...

Two one-act plays by Joyce Carol Oates. The Key: a hilarious perverse encounter between a vacationing suburban housewife, recently separated from her husband, and a prosperous businessman. Tone Cluster: a chilling trig-comedy that takes the form of an interview between a middle-aged, middle-class American couple and the media. Two full-cast L.A. Theatre Works performances featuring Edward Asner, Hector Elizondo, Don Reed, Joyce Van Patten and JoBeth...

Joyce Carol Oates explores with bloodcurdling insight the ties that bind-or worse. In "The Man Who Fought Roland LaStarza" a woman's world is upended when she learns the brutal truth about a family friend's death-and what her father is capable of. Meanwhile, a businessman desperate to find his missing two-year-old grandson in "Suicide Watch" must determine whether the horrifying tale his junkie son tells him about the boy's whereabouts is a confession...

Gulf War and Black are two one-act plays by acclaimed American author Joyce Carol Oates. Gulf War: An affluent young couple entertains an older couple for an evening of cocktails and politics during the Gulf War. But as the evening continues, the conversation take a bizarre and absurd tone Black: In this evening of cocktails and dinner, a couple anxiously awaits the arrival of an ex-husband. As the wine glasses are drained, the evening becomes dark...

Showcasing stories from some of the comics' greatest female creators, this anthology features stories that range from mainstream adventures to hilarious comic shorts to heart-wrenching autobiographical stories. Originally published as Sexy Chix in 2006, this new edition is presented in a new, larger size! Featuring over a dozen stories by top talents like New York Times bestselling author Joyce Carol Oates, Eisner Award-winning illustrator Jill Thompson,...

Racism mars the life of Iris Courtney, and violence occurs when her friend Jinx Fairchild defends her against Little Red Garlock, a hillbilly who hates both blacks and whites.

"In the waning days of the 1970s, the lives of several residents of Detroit and its affluent white suburbs are drawn together following the disappearance of yet another child. Hannah, a wife and mother, begins an affair with a darkly charismatic stranger; Mikey, a young street hustler, finds himself on an unexpected mission to rectify injustice; and then there's the child serial killer known as Babysitter, an enigmatic and elusive figure at the periphery...