Mina could use a change.

Oh sure, Mina actually changes plenty. Every night the woman goes out to the bar, the 28-year-old shows up as someone else. She might be a brunette ballerina. Or a red-headed singer. The blond just dons a wig, slaps on a new personality and voila! No more Mina.

Just as well, she figures. Who’d like Mina anyway? Mina doesn’t even like Mina that much.

But still, a change of scenery would be nice. So when her pet-store-owning boss asks her if she’d be willing to transport a pricey golden conure (think large parakeet) across Ireland, she’s happy to do so. A little road trip might do her good.

But when that road takes her deep into the dwindling Irish forests, something goes mysteriously awry. First, her car conks out. Then, when she gets out of the car to search for help, it vanishes altogether.

And let’s not forget the strange flocks of birds overhead. Or the rumbling ground. Or the creepy sign that says, “Point of No Return 12.”

Mina—still toting her own bird around in its nifty little cage—is getting seriously creeped out when she spies a concrete bunker, with an elderly woman standing in the doorway.

“If you care to live, you’re going to have to run,” the woman tells her.

Run where? Well, to the bunker, presumably. So run Mina does, golden conure swinging by her side. She rumbles into the bunker, takes a breath and eyes her new surroundings.

It’s a simple place: a table. A couch or two. A tube TV and an old-timey phonograph. Oh, and three people. The old woman introduces herself as Madelyn. Danny’s a young man—not much more than a boy, really. And then there’s Ciara, a young woman around Mina’s age. She’s still hopeful that her husband might come back after leaving the bunker—a place they call the “Coop”—six days ago. 

Then there’s that wall of glass. Mina’s barely had time to take a second breath before Madelyn asks everyone to line up and face that glass, so that they can get a good look at the Coop’s newest resident.

They? The Watchers, of course. Those outside the Coop, those who rule the forest, those who hide in in the day and run wild and ravenous in the dark.

Those who kill anyone they catch.

The forest stretches too far in every direction to leave before nightfall. Ciara’s been in the Coop for five months. Madelyn? She might’ve been there for years.

Yeah, Mina needed a change.

But this? Not the change she had in mind.

The post The Watchers appeared first on Plugged In.

So, when two thuggish individuals pull a gun on him in a hotel lobby and call him by the name of Kaplan, Roger immediately thinks it must be a joke. Maybe the boys at the club have set up this hoodlum bit for a laugh.

But after a forced cab ride to a local estate, Roger isn’t quite sure what’s going on. It certainly isn’t amusing him.

Then he’s ushered into the library of another man, a Mr. Townsend, who also calls him by the name of George Kaplan. And this Townsend fellow seems to think he’s nothing less than a spy, a government agent. And he wants to bribe him to cooperate.

Now, Roger is ready to laugh, except for the fact that his kidnappers are all so deadly serious and holding guns. He earnestly tries to explain that’s it’s a simple case of mistaken identity, but his captors won’t hear a word of it. Must we continue these games, Mr. Kaplan, Townsend dryly murmurs. Then he orders his thugs to quietly take care of the matter.

Which means what, exactly? What is this “matter,” Roger wonders, and how do they intend to “take care” of it? One of the men pulls out a bottle of bourbon and intimates that he intends to see Roger drink the whole thing. Roger’s always up for a cocktail, but this is ridiculous.

The suave and always well-pressed advertising exec is now convinced that his evening isn’t going to end up at the theater as he was planning.

And he’s absolutely right.

In fact, Roger Thornhill is about to embark on the mystery-filled rollercoaster ride of his life.

The post North by Northwest appeared first on Plugged In.

Yes, there’ve been exceptions. Add a little code here, twist a little wire there, and you could “jailbreak” a robot and allow it to run wild. And while sometimes those unimpeded robots make trouble—no one needs to be reminded of the Novgorod Insurrection—most are so excited about their newfound sentience that rebellion is the last thing on their newfound minds. Why fight when you can party?

So why did this robot—seemingly in a pleasant state of inactivity in this Mars university laboratory, and with no one fiddling with it in any way—suddenly rip off its restraints, leap from the table and threaten tech student Jun Chow? Why would it ignore all commands to shut down? And why would it then just … scamper away?

And most importantly, why would Jun and her roommate disappear, just hours later?

Private investigator Aline Ruby wants to know. She and her android partner, Carlos, are on the case.

Normally, Aline’s work is more straightforward. Why, her last case was a simple piece of work: Catching a so-called robot “emancipator” and sending her off to jail. Well, the sending-her-off-to-jail part didn’t work that well, actually; the warrant for the woman’s arrest somehow disappeared off the network. But other than that little hiccup, everything worked like a charm.

But this case feels different. It feels more weighty, somehow, than a straightforward missing person investigation. Jun’s disappearance must have something to do with that surprisingly independent robot.

But the more she and Carlos dig, the more interesting—and the more convoluted—the case becomes. And while they don’t know it, every step forward just might put them a step closer to their own very terminal ends.

The post Mars Express appeared first on Plugged In.

James Bond? Psh. The guy might as well be a valet attendant when you stand ol’ 007 next to Agent Argylle.

Yes, Argylle, he of the dimpled chin and towering physique, the sparkling eyes and the charismatic half-smile. He’s the handsomest, suavest, most lethal spy this side of a vodka martini—equal parts debonair and deadly, all wrapped up in one perfectly tailored Nehru suit. One look at the guy, and you’ll say, “Yes, clearly, this man must be a spy.” 

And while all those attributes might not be ideal for, y’know, going undercover and stuff, author Elly Conway doesn’t care. And neither do Argylle’s legions of fans.

Yep, Argylle is a work of fiction—an invention straight from Elly’s surprisingly fertile brain. For four books now, Argylle has traveled the globe, solving puzzles, killing bad guys, wooing women and waging war against his sinister former syndicate.

A fifth novel is on the way—if Elly can just figure out how to end the thing. When Elly’s mother reads her draft, she gently suggests that the cliffhanger at the end feels like a copout. Your readers deserve better, Mom says.

But it’s not just readers who are hanging on Elly’s every written word: So is a shadowy, all-too-real syndicate. Somehow, Elly’s books seem to be channeling real clandestine happenings, right down to the winner-takes-all secrets that Argylle is chasing in the fifth book.

And that means Elly’s life is in danger.

Impossible, you say? Elly would’ve said so, too, right before she boarded a train to visit her mom and hash out the rest of the book. Right before the long-haired hobo sat in the seat across from her and (after a bit of small talk) told her as much. Right before every other occupant in the car started punching and kicking and shooting and stabbing—all clearly determined to end Elly’s writing career permanently.

Thankfully, the mysterious long-haired spy across from her—Aiden by name—was pretty good at punching and shooting, too. They escaped the train with their lives preserved, their limbs intact and Elly’s cat, Alfie, safely in tow.

But Elly wants answers. She wants to know why her fictional books are disturbingly close to fact. She wants to know why it seems like she’s fallen into one of her books—minus, unfortunately, the dashing, square-jawed Argylle.

Oh, well. Aiden might not dress to kill. But when it comes to actual killing? He seems pretty good at that part.

The post Argylle appeared first on Plugged In.

Helena heard this question from her father 20 years ago. They were stalking a deer—and hopefully their supper that night. The 10-year-old Helena scanned the terrain and knew the buck wouldn’t have chosen the marshy meadow sprawling in front of her. No, he would’ve done deeper into the woods, hoping to hide.

For as long as Helena could remember, she’d hunted with her father. He’d ask her questions all the time (Is the blood warm or cold? Is the animal walking or running?), teaching her with each one how to hunt a little better, kill a little easier. For Helena, it was heaven: Just her and her father, Jacob, surrounded by green and blue, water and dirt. And, if they were lucky, dinner.

Helena’s mother didn’t understand the beauty and power of nature. She couldn’t. Jacob said she never had much imagination, and Helena believed it. Oh, Mother was OK sometimes. But she was nothing like Father. He was her hero, her guardian, her best friend. Jacob called her “Little Shadow.”

And then her mother had to ruin it all.

Mother’s perspective of that “idyllic” life? Far different than Helena’s—and far from idyllic. A dozen years ago, Jacob kidnapped the woman and kept her a prisoner. Helena was the product of the habitual rape she suffered. But she loved the girl. And when the opportunity came to escape—thanks to a doomed, lost adventurer and his ATV—she wasn’t going to leave Helena behind.

It’s been 20 years since her mom pulled her from the marshlands and into the civilized world. Her mother committed suicide years ago. Her father’s in prison—and should be for the rest of his life.

And Helena? She’s tried to move on. She has a job. A husband. And most importantly, a little girl of her own. No one knows who her father is; no one knows about her 10 years in the marsh.

Until, that is, Jacob escapes—killing two guards along the way.

Helena doesn’t think that her father knows where she is. How could he? But she feels him. She senses that he’s close. And even though she knows, rationally, that her dad was a bad, bad man, she still remembers those days in the woods, when it was just the two of them.

But she has her own life now. Her own family. She thinks of her own daughter, Marigold. And she worries.

If you were afraid—running for your life—where would you go?

She hopes it won’t come to that. But her father also taught her to be prepared … always.

The post The Marsh King’s Daughter appeared first on Plugged In.

When budgets get tight, Black Friday sales heat up.

And when sale items dwindle, tempers rise.

Add that all together and vigorously stir in, oh, a large angry crowd that was left pressed together and shivering out in the cold, and you’ve got a recipe for … well, it ain’t fruitcake.

Last year, the Thanksgiving night sale at the Plymouth, Massachusetts, RightMart became nothing less than a raging, bloody riot. Angry fights erupted. People ended up dead. Not only that, but the destruction and bloodletting was streamed to the internet, where it went viral.

In light of all that, the embarrassed people of Plymouth have decided to change their ways this year. They want a kinder, gentler holiday.

That, however, isn’t gonna happen.

You see, there was someone in the sweaty and painful swirl of last year’s heated shopping rampage who walked away with a glowing ember of rage smoldering in in their heart. So this year, that white-hot, wrath -filled participant has decided to don a mask of John Carver—the first governor of the new Plymouth colony—and to carve up a lot more than a turkey.

Flesh will be torn, limbs will be lopped, entrails will be spilled, and a bloody feast will grace the Thanksgiving table.

And she or he has no plans of going away hungry.

The post Thanksgiving appeared first on Plugged In.

The New Yorker woke up one day and, staring out her apartment window, realized just how little she enjoyed the company of people. It’s why she’s rented a spur-of-the-moment vacation home out of the city for her family.

When she and her husband, Clay, arrive, they realize that a quick break from the rat race was just what they needed—well, that, and a family trip to the nearby beach!

But that relaxing day quickly turns to confusion when a massive oil tanker comes slamming straight into the sandy shore. And according to an official, it’s happening up and down the coast due to some sort of navigational computer glitch. What’s more, when the family gets back to the rental, they find that neither the WiFi nor the TV are getting any signal.

Soon after that, the family gets a knock at the door. It’s a father and daughter, dressed for a night at the Bronx Philharmonic Orchestra. The father introduces the two of them as George and Ruth, and he’s the owner of the home. There’s been a city-wide blackout, and he’s hoping Clay and Amanda would let them stay the night in safety away from the city. Amanda’s hesitant, but Clay agrees to let the two of them stay—especially after George reimburses them for half the cost with money he pulls from one of the house’s locked drawers.

Come morning, the two families debate what to do. That’s when Ruth turns the TV on to find the blaring blue message on every channel.

It’s an emergency broadcast warning of a devastating cyberattack sweeping the country.

The post Leave the World Behind appeared first on Plugged In.

The great detective is finished with murder, done with death. He’s turned his ever-orderly mind to more gentle pursuits in Venice: measuring marketplace eggs to the millimeter for his breakfast. Dusting (that’s right, dusting) his garden. His bodyguard, Vitale, keeps potential clients at bay, keeping Poirot’s world clean and conflict-free.

But then an old friend comes to call—a paperback mystery writer, of all people—by the name of Ariadne Oliver. She’s in town for a séance, led by a woman the papers call “the unholy Mrs. Reynolds.”

Ariadne, like Poirot, has always assumed that mediums such as Mrs. Reynolds were invariably phony. But Mrs. Reynolds? She’s something different. And try as Ariadne does to catch the medium’s chicanery, she’s been unsuccessful. Now, she wants Poirot to join her at the séance—to put his little gray cells to use one more time and spot the fake.

“I am the smartest person I ever met, and I can’t figure it out,” Ariadne tells Poirot. “So I came to the second.”

Poirot agrees—for an old friend. The place: a crumbling Venetian villa owned by the legendary opera singer Rowena Drake. The date: Halloween. And who will Mrs. Reynolds be trying to contact on the other side of death’s veil?

Why, Rowena’s daughter, Alicia, of course. She committed suicide not so long ago. Or so the doctor concluded. But some say the villa’s many ghosts might’ve given her a little … push.

The guests settle in for the séance, and Mrs. Roberts does her thing: She contacts Alicia. Or, at least, she seems to, before Poirot uncovers her accomplice in the chimney. The detective has done his work. He’s proved that Mrs. Roberts, while an excellent actress, is nothing but a frau—

But then the door crashes open. Mrs. Roberts’ chair begins to spin. And the medium—speaking in Alicia’s voice—screams the same word again and again.

“Murderer!” she wails. “Murderer!” It’s a shocking spectacle, to be sure. But one guest is more shocked than the rest. And if Alicia was murdered in this house, she’ll have company before the evening is over.

The post A Haunting in Venice appeared first on Plugged In.

In the human world, you might call upon a Sherlock Holmes, Philip Marlowe or even an Encyclopedia Brown if you’ve got a mystery to solve. But if you’re an insect, you’d probably enlist the help of Inspector Sun.

OK, you likely wouldn’t seek the seven-legged spider sleuth out—he’s not exactly the most academic of arachnids. But his record speaks for itself: What he lacks in brains, he makes up for with sheer luck.

It’s a bit frustrating to Sun, honestly. He’s tired of everyone telling him that his successes are simply due to good luck. And he’s determined to prove otherwise to everyone.

And it just so happens that his luck brings a case right to his … er … feet? While flying from Shanghai to San Francisco, the investigator is alerted to the murder of one Bugsy Spindlethorp. The spider was on his honeymoon with his lovely black widow wife, Arabella, and the two were hoping to leave the life of crime they once lived behind them.

Obviously, Arabella’s the prime suspect. After all, black widow spiders are known for their husband-eating habits. And Bugsy’s body has fang marks that match those of a black widow. It seems like an easy “case closed.”

But the web of deception thickens—because Inspector Sun discovers other clues … clues that seem to exonerate the widowed widow. And clues that also reveal the danger Inspector Sun—and everyone else on the flight—are truly in.

The post Inspector Sun appeared first on Plugged In.

Mike’s had a pretty rough go of it.

A few weeks ago, he lost his job as a mall security guard for beating up a guy he thought was kidnapping a kid. Turns out the guy was the kid’s dad; and he wasn’t kidnapping the kid, he was just trying to leave the mall.

Mike’s actions, while unacceptable, were somewhat understandable though. His younger brother was kidnapped when Mike was 12—while Mike was watching him. And he’s lived with the guilt ever since, even revisiting the scene in his dreams in an attempt to remember who the kidnapper was.

But Mike has other problems, too.

His mom died a few years back, and his dad took off shortly after that. Now Mike is the sole caretaker of his little sister, Abby. The bills aren’t getting paid, since he has no income. And his manipulative Aunt Jane is petitioning the court to have Abby placed in her care instead.

Mike needs a job if he’s going to have any shot at keeping Abby. But his only option is a night guard shift at Freddy Fazbear’s, a derelict pizzeria that got shut down in the ‘80s.

There’s something haunting about Freddy’s. Maybe it’s the creepy, life-sized animatronics scattered around the joint. Maybe it’s the high turnover rate of security guards. Or maybe it’s the five children rumored to have disappeared there.

But Mike doesn’t have a choice. He’ll have to survive many nights at Freddy’s if he wants to keep his family together.

The post Five Nights at Freddy’s appeared first on Plugged In.