When a different kind of justice is needed—swift, effective, and personal—a new type of avenger must take action. In Vengeance, bestselling author Lee Child, “a superb craftsman of suspense” (Entertainment Weekly), presents twenty-one riveting stories from some of today’s top crime writers.

In our dangerous world, offenders cannot always be brought down by the justice system. They must be stopped by someone outside the law. Some call them vigilantes, others claim they are just another brand of criminal.

In Dennis Lehane’s “The Consumers,” a suburban woman hires a hit man to target her husband, who has committed a terrible crime. In Karin Slaughter’s “The Unremarkable Heart,” a dying woman learns the truth about a dark family secret. In Michael Connelly’s “A Fine Mist of Blood,” LAPD Detective Harry Bosch discovers a witness who will lead him to the doorstep of a hardened killer. And in Lee Child’s “The Hollywood I Remember,” an assassin gets his long overdue comeuppance.

Edited and with an introduction by Lee Child, these stories reveal the shocking consequences when men and women take the law into their own hands.