Prey by Night // Rain of Terror — Douglas Sanderson

PREY BY NIGHT Bill Williams works for the Marquesa running contraband from Tangiers to the Spanish Coast. That is, until the Association decides to scuttle his boat one dark night, almost killing him and his mate Paco. Williams knows he has to fight back just to stay alive, but who and where is the Association? How do you find an enemy who operates even further outside the law than he does? Things become further complicated when Paco finds out that Williams has been seeing his sister, Maria, and feels he must protect her honor. And then there’s Lavinia Hatherton, a rich blonde with an expansive taste in men. And Blasco, a Spanish cop hot on a trail of blood. In a frantic night filled with assassins and temptations, Williams soon finds his greatest challenge is just to stay alive. RAIN OF TERRORJake Abbott is a European reporter with a hell of an assignment. Piscoli is a small town in the Italian mountains south of Naples and it’s being flooded by torrential rains. Ralph Ellison, Jake’s boss, wants him to head up there and report back. Grace, Ralph’s wife, wants Jake to stay with her. But Jake has got other problems. He has inadvertently humiliated a local crime boss, and now he’s got Angelo on his tail with murder on his mind. And then there’s Leverett, part of the committee assigned to assess the damage; Harry Myers, Jake’s photographer; and Captain Luca, out for blood. They’re all heading up the mountain as the rain pours down, cascades of mud and sudden floods washing by. It’s a recipe for disaster, and that’s just what happens when Ralph turns up dead in the flooding—and all evidence points to Jake as the killer!